A) Broken Honor
by selfless1978
Summary: Not all fights can be won. This is one of them. But maybe with a little help there may still be hope...
1. Chapter 1

He stood on the rooftop in the night, his eyes wandering the city below. He was young, still in training but already he had been marked with the burden of leading, because he was the most suited to do so. It wasn't a task he particularly enjoyed, but he wasn't offered the choice of it.

His eyes found the mark of tonight and narrowed, already bringing the warrior to the surface that lay hidden beneath the calm exterior. Patience, patience was the key here. It was patience that had kept him alive, kept him one step ahead of the strikes that had already been aimed at him numerous times over his fifteen years. It was that same patience that he now called upon as he followed the man below, followed him as still as death.

He had been connected with a series of robberies and break ins resulting in the theft of much needed supplies and equipment, and the turtle came out tonight to stop it. He easily kept pace with the man, shadowing him in the shadows of the quiet rooftops. He remain undetected, no matter how often the individual below looked around to make sure he wasn't being followed. The night shadow slipped quietly on.

He was led to an abandoned warehouse, not an uncommon thing in this city, and he easily gained access through the busted skylight to the building, now, where did he go?

It was the sound of voices that led him where he needed to go as they echoed up in the seemingly empty building and he quickly made his way over the rafters and found the source. Found them easily. Again his eyes narrowed as he looked down at the large group of men below him. From the looks of the plans spread out over multiple tables in this corner of the building, they were planning another raid, and he could not allow that. Katanas came to his hands as he carefully picked his way down to the floor level.

He took a deep breath, trying to cleanse himself of the doubting thoughts that entered his young mind, his eyes firmly fixed on the task before him. It had to be done. Then he dropped down amongst them.

Of course they tried to run from him, even now he had a fierce reputation that made his opponents quake in fear just at the sound of his name, knew that he struck fear into the hearts of those who he came across. And he used that fear now to his advantages as they fled from him. He let his inner animal gain control, the one part of him he could not control. It had followed him since he had been a child, always waiting, always lurking in the shadows of his mind, bursting forth to the forefront every so often. Over time it came more and more often, and harder to control, but he reluctantly let it in because it gave him an extra edge. He despised it, but he needed it, if he wanted to live. In this world that was so hostile to him, he had to rely on it's help. But fighting it back grew ever harder.

The sharp katanas began their work, slicing through flesh with ease at the skilled hands of this ninja as he hunted them down, one by one. None would escape him tonight, none would plan another raid against the Master. None would live. None will thwart the quest for power. With each thrust of the swords, one less resistance fighter was among the living, and a piece of him died with every falling body. But he had no choice.

His blade had felled the last standing man and as he fell, another individual who had been hiding came rushing out. The blade came down as the form came rushing towards the body that had just fallen, but stopped before it could cut the tender skin as he stared in disbelief. A child, a girl of no more than eight was crying bitterly over the now dead man before him. Her golden blonde locks soaked up the blood as her bright blue eyes wept for the man, and man she was calling desperately to, urging him to get up. Calling to her father.

It was those calls that helped him push back the shadow in his mind, locking the monster back into it's dark hole. He could not, would not, slay this child. His heart was breaking enough watching her as she cried over the man he just killed. He couldn't face those eyes, now robbed of their innocence and he quickly turned and fled. Running from the small child whose eyes he couldn't face and the guilt they shot through him.

.

.

Leonardo took hours longer than needed to make it back. Hours he spent trying to justify the actions he seemed to be forced to take more and more often now. Actions that his very being fought against, but was unable to do anything about.

He landed easily on the roof of the building that he called home, fearlessly walking along the humans here, they wouldn't dare interfere with him. He brushed past the roof guards who were quietly watching him, judging him. It was no secret here whom he served and whom he now had to report too.

"You're a fool." Came out of the shadows to his right as he walked into the dim corridor. "You were told to take us with you." Donatello said as he stepped closer, then fell into step beside his older brother.

"I didn't need you." Was the reply. "And I saw no reason to bring you out to deal with it." He closed his eyes briefly, the only outward sign that he wasn't as calm as he appeared. No, he didn't want to drag them into these things if he could help it, even if it meant going against the masters wishes.

Donatello however looked at his brother with a slight sneer. "Sentimental idiot. I don't understand why he chose you to lead us."

Again the katana wielder fought back emotions. There had been a time when his brothers and him shared a close bond, but now...now it was eroding away. Since they began their servitude to this human, he had been forced to quietly watch as they had changed. Growing more distant, ruthless, violent. He had watched as who they were was stripped away, but he still protected them. Took on these missions to spare them the feeling of spilling blood. Their light cheerful eyes had grown darker with each deed he couldn't keep them from, their joy of life slowly being consumed by hatred for everyone beneath them. They were changing and he couldn't stop it. Even as he was beginning to realize he couldn't stop his own shadows from wanting to turn him into the same uncaring monster. He inwardly shuddered at how hard it was to reign it back in tonight, and almost wept at the reason why he was able too.

"You disobeyed him again." Raphael said with a smirk on his face as they approached the room his Master was in, waiting for his report. He and Michelangelo were leaning on either side of the massive door. "Keep doing that and he might vacate the leader position."

"No, he won't." Leonardo replied as he stared down his brother. "He knows that none of you are suited for it." Mainly because he kept reminding his Master of the flaws, in order to keep them behind as much as possible. He took on this burden to try and save them, and still did. That was a task given him long ago by another. One who had tried to raise them and began their training. Until the fateful day came when he gave his life to keep what was now happening from happening. He had risked it all to save them, and couldn't. Now Leonardo held onto that promise he had made to his father, before he had been pulled away by his master's men and brought here. To serve the master who had killed his father.

As children they had been to scared to run, and didn't have anywhere to go really. And by the time they were old enough to be able to leave, it was already to late. They had changed to much. Now he was forced to remain with his brothers, because he wouldn't abandon them, not even now when they weren't the same brothers as he once knew.

He didn't say anything further to his brothers as he pulled the door open, and stepped into the room beyond. His eyes immediately found the large human as he sat in his large throne like chair on the other side of it. He calmly walked up towards the man he had sworn to serve, his face hiding the hate he actually felt for him.

"You went alone." Came the deep voice as he bowed.

"Yes, I did Master." He calmly replied as he stood straight again.

"I told you to take your brothers to make sure none escaped, yet you take on a large number of them by yourself." He stood up and walked closer, his eyes dangerous behind the mask he wore.

"They weren't hard for me to deal with alone. I was able to take care of it without them."

"All were slain?" His eyes narrowed.

"Yes. None survived." And he hated himself for it. And that self hate weakened the restraints in his mind, and the shadow tried to slip out, he struggled to keep that from happening.

"You lie to me, my student." Shredder suddenly snapped as he landed a backhand blow to Leonardo's face, sending him crashing to the floor. "There was a survivor."

"No!" The turtle tried to scramble back up from the floor, but was kicked back down. "None were able to flee! I swear it!"

"Do you?" He motioned to one of the ninjas standing by another door, and he opened it and spoke to someone inside, who came back out, dragging the little girl from earlier.

"No..." Leonardo whispered in horror as the girl was thrown at Shredder's feet. "She is but a child! She is no danger!"

"All who oppose me are a danger." Came the growling answer. "Since you wanted to take on this task alone, you will complete it. Kill her." His eyes watched intently as he took in the horrified features of the turtle.

"Master please...she is just a child." He begged.

"Kill her." He calmly said.

He drew his sword even as he tried to find some way out for this poor child, but found none. "I...I can't." He looked back at the man who was still watching him intently, for once in his life openly defying him. "And I won't."

"Very well." Quicker than Leonardo could react, he took his blades and stabbed the child in the stomach.

" _NO!_ " The desperate, pain filled shout drowned out the agonized scream of the little girl as Leonardo's heart broke. The shadows hit the barrier harder as he watched her collapse to the floor in front of him, writhing in pain and now crying from it.

"If you won't do it because I demand it, then do it to end her suffering. She will die one way or another, you know as well as I do the injury will take time to kill her."

Leonardo was breathing heavily as emotions washed through him. Hate, anger, guilt, desperation all took their turn as he watched the girl on the floor, his mental instability taking away what little control he had of himself. The shadow was fighting to be let out, demanded it and he couldn't fight it anymore as he knelt down next to the child. He kept his sanity long enough to look into those blue eyes that held his, the sheer pain in them holding the monster back just long enough for him to send her a calm gaze. "I am sorry, little one. I never wanted this to happen, and I won't let you suffer anymore." He told her quietly, then swiftly brought a katana around, and dulled those blue eyes.

He wept as he watched her pain filled struggles stop. Not strong enough to come to terms with what he just did, the barrier was forced open and he was overwhelmed by the shadow, the monster that had always hidden inside of him. Now, it was hidden no more as his light brown eyes darkened as it swiftly took control. "Father, I failed." He whispered quietly into the room before who he was was swept away, now to be locked behind the barrier as his darker side became dominant.

Leonardo looked at his Master, and smiled an evil smile. "That was actually very entertaining. Shame I waited so long in doing it."

Shredder's pleased evil laughter drowned out the desperate cries in Leonardo's mind. Silenced the voice so desperately trying to be heard, trying to take back control. But the shadow would not let him. The shadow owned him now and would not let him go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Ok, I know this was supposed to be a oneshot...but it presented me with an opportunity here. But it is one that I feel needs a warning. This is going to be a tale of my version of the Dark Turtles. This will be a darker story than what all of you are used to seeing from me, because I feel like it needs to go down to a certain depth to truly understand them. I'm going to write about things that I've only hinted at before now. If you can't handle the opening chapter, then this might not be the story for you to read, because it's not going to be a one time thing in this story. They are, after all, the Dark Turtles.**

Leonardo woke up suddenly from his restless sleep and sat up in his bed as the sound that woke him once again echoed across the room. The sound of someone beating on his door.

"I'm up!" He snapped at the door even as he brought a hand to his eyes, and hand that was trembling he noticed.

"The Master has a mission for us." Raphael's voice snarled from the other side. "He wants us to meet in the sitting room within the hour."

"I'm coming, just...go away!" He almost screamed at his brother as he looked at that trembling hand, and the other that was trembling just as bad. Then he snarled and clenched both of them, furious that a simple dream could trouble him so much. "Weakness..." He hissed under his breath as he got up.

And yet, he couldn't shake that weakness. He couldn't shake the images he saw in his sleep, couldn't shake the cries that met his ears when he dreamed. He growled as he forced the images from his head. They had no place here and they would not deter him. And, for the moment, they grew quiet.

It didn't take him long to get ready and within a few moments he was in full gear and on his way out the door when a sob reached him. Surprised that he had forgotten about his earlier entertainment so easily, he stepped back and found the woman he had taken, numerous times, just a few short hours ago. She had moved from his bed and now sat huddled in the far corner of the room, her naked body covered in her own blood from the beatings he had given her because of her noisy rejections. She was rocking back and forth on the floor in the corner, whimpering, as she held her knees to her chest and her eyes full of fear as she looked at him.

For a moment he considered letting her go. She had pleased him very well last night, something he usually rewarded with letting them live, if they were able to survive his affections. But something flashed across his eyes, just for an instant, those accusing blue eyes that seemed to haunt his dreams and the woman's sobbing took on a higher pitch to him, like the pained sounds of a child. Something pushed against him, wanting to reach out and comfort the crying woman.

He violently pushed it away and in a fit of rage he lashed out. Rapidly pulling out a kunai and sending it towards the woman. He watched with disinterest as it embedded itself between her eyes and her crying was finally silenced. He didn't give her another glance as he strode out of the room, catching one of the Master's servants by the arm in the hallway outside.

"Yes my Lord?" The servant gave him a quick bow, something they had all learned to do over the years, if they wanted to live.

"Have my room cleaned." Was the short command before he walked on, not even waiting for the servant to acknowledge his command.

"Yes...My Lord..." Came back at him anyway. If Leonardo had turned to look back at the man, he would have seen the look of pure disgust at the order. The servant all knew very well how all the turtles treated their bedmates, and the mess that was made in the process. Because they were always the ones to clean it up.

He entered the sitting room of his Master a short time later, the same room the little unnamed girl lost her life in. It still held the large, throne like chair and the same sparse furnishings. But only he could hear the screams that seemed to echo across the large empty space, and he again found himself pushing the memories away. They had no place in his mind and served him no purpose.

His brothers were already there when he arrived, waiting impatiently for him. He ignored their glares as he bowed before the large man sitting in the large chair in front of him. "You summoned me Master?"

"Indeed. It has come to my attention that a certain individual has made contact with one of my enforcement personnel."

Leonardo looked confused at his Master. It wasn't usual for him to burden them, or himself really, with such small matters. That's what Hun was for after all. They dealt with the more...important matters. "And he risks his life doing so...why?"

There was an evil chuckle from behind the faceplate. "I don't think he was to worried about it. He was easily able to take down the guards, even refrained from killing one long enough to send a message through him."

"This should be interesting." Raphael muttered as he leaned against the wall.

"Oh, it is my student. But let him tell you what he has come for, because it is you that he wishes to see."

That made them all look at each other in shock. Not because of the fact that they were known, everyone here knew them. But because the man was brave enough to even try. Others knew better.

"Very well." Leonardo agreed, his interest now stirred. "Let's see what the brave man has to say."

Shredder motioned to one of his ninjas and he opened the door to the side chamber. After a few quietly spoken words were said a man came walking out. He was very well dressed in a black suit and tie and shades hid his eyes. Leonardo crossed his arms as he watched the ninja escort this buffoon closer.

The man stopped and looked the turtles over, his eyebrow raising behind his tinted glasses. "Interesting, very interesting indeed... The resemblance is...uncanny..."

Leonardo narrowed his eyes at the man. He immediately knew he didn't like this stranger, but he didn't really like anyone. "I'm sure you will get over your fascination eventually and tell us what you want."

The man seemed to ignore him as he calmly looked all four of them over before looking at Shredder. "They do seem to be what I am looking for, but are they trained well enough?"

There was an amused chuckle from the large chair. "They should be, or they wouldn't survive here."

Not particularly enjoying being talked about as if he wasn't standing ten feet away, Leonardo pulled another kunai out and casually let this one fly, inches past the man's head and into the one of the ninja who had accompanied him. The man turned just in time to see the body fall to the floor. "We were told you came here to see us, so you will address us. Or I will make you regret making me waste my time."

"Like you had anything more important to do besides riding a bitch to death." Michelangelo muttered.

"She was more entertaining than this sack of shit." Leonardo crossed his arms again.

"Killed her already?"

"She served her purpose." Came the answering shrug.

The man in front of them let out a chuckle as he looked hard at Leonardo, almost as he was sizing the turtle up. "So alike, yet so different. Very well, I'll not bother you with the boring build up. My name is Bishop, and I require your assistance in a project I am working on. A couple of them actually."

Leonardo raised an eyeridge at that. "And what on earth could you offer us to even make this even worth discussing?"

"On this earth? Nothing." Bishop's smile was dry as he reached into his suit jacket and pulled something out. An envelope. "But _my_ earth might have something to peak your interest." He held it out to the turtle.

Curious in spite of himself, the eldest turtle took the envelope from him and opened it and pulled out the photos he found inside. He looked at them, one by one and his eyes grew wide as he took in what he was seeing. They were blurry and out of focus, for the most part, and he would have scoffed these as being fake until he caught sight of one that was more clear than the rest. He looked up to Bishop in disbelief a moment before his eyes were drawn back to the photo. He looked hard at the image, the tall, muscular body, the katanas in each hand as he tried to cover someone he couldn't make out from men surrounding them. The blue mask on the face covering blue eyes that struck something deep inside him. Something he had been trying to stamp out for years, but seemed to fail as the blue eyes of the little girl flashed in his vision again. He was looking at himself... "Where did you find these?" He hissed at Bishop as his hands trembled, starting to crumble the pictures.

"I see I have your interest. As I said, they are not here on your earth, they are from mine. Bishop took them back before the angry turtle ripped the photos to shreds. "If you agree to assist me, I just might help you find them. Seems like here you don't have a fitting challenge anymore. It must be incredibly dull running around, stomping out minor threats to your Master's authority. I offer you some real sport, in exchange for your services."

"That's twice that you have hinted that you don't come from here." Donatello mused as he looked at the man. "Would it hurt your brain too much to give us a decent explanation?" He held his hand out for the photos and Bishop let him have them and he began to flip through them himself and the other two looked over his shoulder.

"Really simple really. It seems that with a little tampering, you can open a doorway to other dimensions. They," he motioned to the photos in the turtle's hands "found that out. It took me a little to figure out _how_ they did it, but once the idea was there it was pretty easy to build my own doorway."

"Interesting." Donatello mumbled as he continued to flip through the images. "These must be our counterparts in that world."

Leonardo snarled as a third kunai flew out of his hand in the space of an hour, ripping the pictures out of his brother's hand before it stuck to the floor with them a few feet away. "Soon to be dead counterparts." He sneered at the stunned looks from his brothers. He turned back to Bishop. "How do we find them?"

"That is the hard part." The man admitted. "But I think I have a way for you to draw them out, if we are agreed."

Leonardo looked at his Master and got an approving nod before he turned back to their visitor. "We are."

Bishop smiled and pulled another photo out and handed it to him. On this one he could now clearly see who the turtle was protecting. A woman... long brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to hold his. She was held protectively in the arm of their leader as he fought his way out of whatever situation they found themselves in when it was taken. "They seem quite fond of this woman, especially Leonardo. He goes through great lengths to keep her safe. Get your hands on her, and he will come to you."

"And you know this how?" The turtle snarled again, not at all pleased to share the same name with the turtle in the picture.

"Because he's done it before."

"I see." Leonardo said calmly as he looked at the picture again. Then smiled an unpleasant smile. "Then she will be his downfall. Donatello, take him somewhere and see if you two can't come up with a doorway we can use."

"Why should I?"

"Because I fucking told you too!" Leonardo glared at him.

His younger brother glared back before he moved out of the room with Bishop in tow. Leonardo didn't notice, his gaze was back on the picture he held.

It was Shredder who snapped him back to where he was once those two had left the room. "This presents me with an interesting opportunity." His deep voice rumbled. "For now, you will cooperate with him, but I have my own agenda for his world. He may soon regret reaching out to us, because I intend to own it." Then his eyes narrowed. "But these turtles may be a threat to that plan. You will not fail to eliminate them."

"It will be done Master." Leonardo bowed. "And gladly." He turned to leave the room by the main door, still holding the photo in his hand. He looked again at it as he walked, the way she looked up at him, trusting him as his arm was wrapped around her and something more... His face snarled again as the picture crumpled in his hand. But this time he couldn't explain why he was so angry... Something inside of him tried to tell him why, but he refused to listen. The only thing he wanted to hear was their dying screams.


	3. Chapter 3

**Takes place during chapters 25 - 27 in "Realities Collide"**

"Not bad..." Raphael grudgingly admitted from where they watched in the forest.

Leonardo just grunted in reply as his eyes followed the fleeing bodies as they moved from the ruins of the barn. One form in particular kept his eyes, the body of his counterpart as he was being carried to safety by his brother. He also caught sight of the woman as she hovered protectively over him as he recovered. Another sneer found it's way on his face at the tender touches and words they shared.

He had expected her to be crushed in the falling rubble, but he had covered her right before it fell, and obviously gave his best effort to keep the building remains off of her. Weakening himself to the point where he needed assistance, just to keep her alive. Seems that Bishop had been correct in his observation. Yes, she was the key. The key to bringing him down.

The whole barn setup had been nothing more than an attempt for them so see how good these misfits actually were. If they even were worth the challenge.

"They do seem to react quickly to whatever they face." Donatello mused. "I personally didn't expect them to move so fast."

Leonardo watched as they talked amongst themselves, watching the scene play out as the rescue vehicles came and began to find the hostages. Ones that he and his brothers had gathered earlier just for this test. Once all of the worthless garbage had been found, the other group quietly slipped away.

"Shadow them." He told his brothers and soon they too were on the move. Leonardo knew where they were heading, the place had been shown to him already by Bishop shortly after coming here. He could have just went around and met them there, but he wasn't ready to do that just yet. He wasn't done observing them. He had to know them before he could face them.

They easily kept pace with the group, mainly because their Leonardo was still recovering. At one point even leaning against a tree to catch his breath. Leonardo narrowed his eyes, maybe he should strike now while he was weak? Suddenly his counterpart's head snapped up and looked around, his eyes searching as his gathered companions talked. He said something and the group moved on. Leonardo slowly let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. "He is good." He murmured to his brothers. "Be careful around them." Then the shadow game began again.

Once again they stopped because the other group did. And once again his eyes swept through the forest as he murmured something to his Donatello. Who answered him back just as quietly.

"They are scanning for us." Came His own brother's quiet voice.

"Do they know of us?"

"No, they know we are out here, but don't know who we are."

"He feels us." Leonardo murmured. "Move onto the farm!" He then snapped quietly. "If we stay out here he'll discover us."

"Why not just take them now?" Raphael growled as they ran.

"Because they might expect it. They know something is out here, and are probably waiting for an attack right now."

His brother just mumbled a few words before he ran on in silence. They had just settled into the trees when they came bursting out of the wood not far from then, and stormed right into the house with the woman leading. Quickly, now that they were all inside, Leonardo ran up to the vehicles and sliced all of the tires on the vehicles sitting out front before retreating back to where his brothers hid. The grin on his face was evil when they came back out and looked at their vehicles in despair. "You aren't going anywhere you fools." He whispered out.

For a third time those blue eyes searched the forest as the big dumb red one shouted out something in anger. Leonardo wisely pulled back further into the vegetation.

"Now what do we do?" Michelangelo asked.

"We wait." Came the dark answer. "Then we strike."

He waited patiently as his brothers fumed at the delay. He watched them as they moved around in pairs, the few times they did leave the house. Again he considered going after the pair in the barn, but quickly changed his mind. They wouldn't have any cover in the darkness and it was out in the open. As watchful as they were, they would notice. No, he would wait for the concealment of night.

The cold didn't bother him at all as he watched them, calculating every move as his brothers hung around near by. Raphael was still grumbling over the delay as he leaned against a tree, Donatello was playing with his gadgets, probably trying to see exactly what was going on in there. But wasn't successful by the way his quiet grumbling reached out. Michelangelo didn't say anything as he leaned against another tree, spinning one of his weapons around. Leonardo watched the youngest carefully as they waited, this one was going to need something to do soon before he flips out in a fit of rage and he really didn't feel like knocking the brat out.

Finally the day turned into early evening and from there to night as the sun finally made it's way behind the horizon. They moved closer as the house seemed to settle down. A light came on in the loft window and Leonardo smiled when he caught sight of his target. She was puttering around up there, and she was alone. He waited for the light to go out. "Michelangelo, with me. You two pull back aways." He looked at the window again. "It's time."

He didn't even wait for answers before he quickly moved out into the night, his youngest brother right behind him as he easily scaled the side of the house and made it to the window. He slipped a blade into the frame and the other turtle pulled it upwards to open it, a little too hard and it thumped when it wouldn't go any further.

"God your an idiot." Leonardo whispered to his brother as he glared at him.

"Oh, shut the fuck up. It's not like the bitch heard me." He snipped back and for an instant Leonardo really wanted to knock his teeth in.

She sat up in the bed at their excange, but her body posture told him that she wasn't alarmed. He had to hold his laugh in at her false sense of security.

"And what the fuck crawled up your ass tonight?" She hissed at Michelangelo as they got closer.

"Nobody yet, but I'd like to crawl up yours." He smirked back at her.

Not really expecting, that she looked at Leonardo, and he could see the confusion in her eyes. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

He let out a soft cold laugh. "Absolutely nothing." He said as he came closer. "He is the same pain in my ass he always is."

Uncertainty began to take hold of her as he drew closer. "Are you guys alright?" She asked him.

By now he had made it to the bed in which she laid in. "We are just fine, you're not going to be though." Then he hit her upside the head before she could cry out for help and her now limp form collapsed back down. "Pathetically easy." He murmured as he pulled some rope out of one of his pouches and began to tie her up.

He couldn't finish the task though. A scent was strong in his nostrils as he just stood near her. His breathing picked up as he paused in his movements and looked down at her, his chest heaving as he fought urges he didn't need right now. She had a scent all over her that wasn't her own, his scent, but not his scent. He sneered as he fought back those urges, the urges to claim her as his own. She was marked as his, but she wasn't his... _He_ had the same scent... and being near her made him want to claim her as his own... He suddenly spun away from her and threw the rope to his brother. "Finish it, then get her out of here." He snarled quietly. "I'll stand watch by the stairs."

His little brother looked at him oddly but did as he was told, roughly tieing her up and gagging her before he pulled her up from the bed and slung her over his shoulder. Without a word he turned back to the window and began to crawl out of it as Leonardo followed.

He just was passing some of the other beds when he noticed movement in one of them. His katana came out as he cautiously approached, fully intent on silencing any witnesses. Eyes narrowed his katana was already on the downswing when at the last moment the figure kicked the blanket away and the blade stopped, inches from the flesh as his eyes grew wide. It was a little girl...

He was hit very suddenly by those blue eyes from his memory as he stood over the sleeping child, his katana now trembling in his fist as his breathing picked up along with the sounds of those long distant cries and he stumbled away from the child as he was suddenly assaulted with memories, of her innocent eyes that had dulled by his hand, her blood soaked blonde hair that now had her own blood smeared in it along with her father's, the limp form that had breathed it's last breath in his arms.

He looked in horror at the child he had almost slain and fought an internal struggle as he was fully hit with what he had become. "What have I done..." He whispered out in the room as for the first time in years he thought clearly, without hate clouding him. "What have I done..."

"You coming or what?" His little brother hissed at him from outside and Leonardo quickly moved away from the girl and by the time he made it to the window his dark side was fully in place.

"Go!" He told his brother then followed him down as they made a quick getaway.

He was quiet, more so than usual, and surly as they navigated the dark forest. His mind still reeling from the memories that had hit him so hard. Memories that would not leave him be! Why did they haunt him! Why... He had locked them away years ago but yet they seem to plague him more and more of late.

"Bitch is wake." Michelangelo's voice cut through his thoughts. "You didn't hit her hard enough."

"I just wanted to knock her out you fucking imbecile, not cave her skull in." Leonardo replied, still somewhat lost in thought.

"Man, she's hot. Maybe we could have some fun with her first?"

Suddenly Leonardo snapped his full attention to his brother. If he didn't step in now he would kill her before they even got what they were after for tonight. "Keep your hands off of her. For now anyway, maybe later we will have some fun with her."

"I don't know if I can wait." He replied as he fondled her again and her muffled cries spurred Leonardo into action.

He reached out and grabbed the woman with one hand and yanked her from his arms before he hit the younger turtle square in the jaw with his other fist. "I said keep your fucking hands off of her." He said in a deadly voice to his brother. "I knew it was a mistake to let you carry her." Then he felt her terrified eyes on him and he looked down at the woman in his arms. He saw the hope fade as the realization finally kicked in that he wasn't who she thought he was. "That's right sweetheart." He purred at her, enjoying her terror. "I'm not him. I won't hesitate to kill you if you give me any problems even though having you alive would be far better, we can still use your corpse." He felt her shiver in fear before he turned to his brother who was still laying in the snow. "Get your ass up and let's go."

He didn't wait as he started walking again and soon he found the others.

"I see you managed to get her. I'm Impressed. The odds weren't really in your favor." Donatello said admiringly when he approached them.

"They were distracted by their false sense of security in the rack shack of a house. It was actually pitifully easy. Dipshit there could have done it on his own."

"And probably would have raped her on the way back." Raph grinned, then leered at her. "Not that I would blame him, I'd like to pound her myself."

"Between the both of you she would be dead. We need her. When we are done with her then you can have her." He looked down at her and smirked. "After I'm done with her. I might even let him live long enough to watch..." There was a sob that came from her as they walked and he looked down to see her crying. He just gave a short laugh over it.

Donatello grinned at him. "That would be interesting to observe. Aww look. You made her cry."

They walked on in silence after that, moving through the cold forest with their captive. They were now committed and he didn't want to waste any energy talking to them, and he didn't feel like it really. He found his thoughts wandering back to the child he left behind, a child who was more than likely going to lose her mother tonight. He knew that the woman was the mother, the resemblance was there. But he found himself honestly wondering if he could pull off his own plan as blue eyes haunted him on his journey. Again he pushed the thoughts, memories and doubts back. He could, and he would. But why was he plagued by doubt if he was so certain...


	4. Chapter 4

**Takes place during chapters 25 - 27 in "Realities Collide"**

He was trembling slightly when he finally made it to the clearing. She was up against him and the scent that covered her was assaulting him. His mind kept screaming at him ' _MY_ mate...' because that damn scent was so much like his own! It was to the point that if he didn't get her away from him he wouldn't be able to control himself.

Bishop was already waiting for them when they arrived and he looked at them with a raised brow. "I see you had no trouble getting her. I'm impressed." He said before he looked at the woman. "So we meet again, my dear. Have you fully recovered from our last encounter? I'm sure your wondering how this all came about. I think I'll be nice and enlighten you."

Leonardo just dropped her to the ground and her moan of pain sent a shiver of anticipation through his groin. That sound along with the scent was driving him crazy...god he wished this idiot would just hurry up and leave! The brothers preferred to enjoy their bedmates without an audience...besides each other at times. Was one of the few things they actually _did_ do together.

By the time Bishop finally shut his rambling trap and left, he was to the point where he was going to take her, plan or not... he knelt down next to the sobbing woman, her fear stirring him even more. "Mmmm. I can smell the fear in you. I might have a hard time waiting after all." His hand reached out and touched her cheek and she pulled her head away from him.

That move infuriated him and he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back towards him. "What? Isn't my touch good enough for you?" He almost snarled at her as he placed his other hand between her thighs, fully enjoying her fear. "I assure you, I'm better than him in every way. I think I'll take the time to prove that to you." He brought his hand up higher.

She struggled even as she cried and he and his brothers were thoroughly enjoying it. "Looks like you want this to be done the hard way." He whispered into her ear. He looked up at his brothers who all had expectant smiles on their faces that matched his own grin. "What do you think boys? Should we break her before they even get here? Or wait until after?"

Donatello looked at her with a gleam in his eye. "I did like your suggestion of making him watch. What a better way to break him before you kill him? I say rape the girl in front of him."

"I don't know if I can wait." Came from Michelangelo. "I really want to ride this little pony hard."

"I'm with Mikey." Raphael roughly pulled her up to her feet before groping her breast. "What do you say little brother? Double penetration?" She whimpered at that suggestion, her eyes wide with fear.

Leonardo decided then to lay his claim on her. She had _his_ scent and it was calling to him the loudest. "I get her first." He pulled out a katana and prepared to slice her sweater off. The pitiful kick she launched at him only amused him. "How about we take her now and then again later? If she lives that is." He ginned at her fear filled face.

"How about you get your filthy hands off of her." Came an ice cold voice from behind them. Leonardo quickly spun to the voice and came face to face with his counterpart who already had his katanas out, and was ready to use them. Leonardo was momentarily stunned from those blue eyes, so much like... He growled and shook the thought away before it even formed. But not before he noticed that these eyes held anger, not fear and pain. He was so caught up in it he didn't notice that the woman was no longer in their possession.

"Well, I have to say you found us quicker than I thought you would." Leonardo finally gathered himself enough to say quietly as he quickly studied him. "And I'm even more impressed that we didn't notice you coming. Even distracted it's hard to sneak up on us."

"That doesn't say a lot about your training then does it?" He replied.

"And seriously? What is up with the creepy blackout look? You guys look like a bunch of Ninja rejects." Their Michelangelo said.

"This from the one who looks like pumpkin threw up on him." His replied.

"That the best you got? Pumpkin puke? Dude you are so lame."

"Enough of this!" Leonardo snapped, already annoyed with the stupid puns. Snarling he rushed his double. If he thought that he would just be able to bowl him over, he was now proven wrong. This blue masked Leonardo matched him strike for strike, easily keeping pace with his whirling blades as he brought them in again and again. His eyes seemed to light up with an inner fire as he fought. He didn't even slow when Leonardo managed to slap one katana out of his hand, he just picked up the pace with the other one to compensate.

"Leo! Heads up!" came a call and his other Katana came flying back to him. His determined blue eyed gaze never left his opponent as he reached out and plucked it from the air, now once again on even footing.

"You're good." Leonardo had to finally admit, understanding that this fight would not be won so easily. "But I never said I play fair." He back flipped away from the other turtle and landed next to the humans. He quickly punched the man out of the way and grabbed the woman before placing his katana across her throat. "It's over. Drop your weapons or I slice her throat open."

Those hate filled blue eyes just watched him. "Her life is forfeit even if I surrender. You think I will let you put her through that?"

"I guess you have to make a hard choice then, don't you? You get to choose how she dies." Leonardo smirked at him.

The clearing was silent as he took those words in. "You're a coward. A disgusting filthy coward."

"Well that's open for debate, isn't it? I do what I have to do to win. Drop your weapons."

"There is nothing to debate. You won't take her life."

"Please tell me, who exactly is going to stop me?" Leonardo sneered as he glared back at him.

"I am!" Came her voice then, just as pain exploded in Leonardo's head as she released her weapon at him he didn't even know she was now carrying. He didn't even have time to process what she just did when he was met with blue eyes' fury. She quickly dodged out of the way as her lover came in. And he came with a fury Leonardo never had to meet before. He was still trying to regain his senses as the blades kept coming for him, never slowing as he somehow managed to block them, until he didn't. He felt the sharp sting of metal entering his side and he collapsed to the ground, holding his side as pain overcame him.

He wasn't sure what happened next in the sudden commotion, all he could tell for sure that Raphael had managed to get to his side and lift him up before Donatello threw a flash bomb to cover their escape. It had all happened so fast that he didn't have the time to process the thought that...he lost... He fucking _LOST!_

 _"Put me down!"_ He hissed at his brother, anger making his whole body tremble. He would not lose, refused to lose, could not lose to him!

His brother literally dropped him because of the fury in his voice and he hissed again, in pain this time as his side stung him. "Not like that you fucking moron!"

"Be more specific then, you ungrateful ass!" He snapped back.

Donatello glared at him as he lowered himself to deal with his brother's injury. "I should just let you bleed out." He mumbled. "Save you the agony of facing the Master with this failure."

"Just patch me up." He growled through the pain. "I'm not finished with him yet!"

Donatello just rolled his eyes as he did a quick patch job then wrapped a bandage around it. Once he was done Leonardo stood back up, ignoring the pain as he turned back around and stormed to the farmhouse.

He was angry enough that when he laid eyes on them by their van he launched several shurikan. His twin pushed the woman out of the way even as he leaned back and the throwing weapons harmlessly hit the van between them before he met that blue eyed glare. How he wanted to close those eyes for good!

"You didn't think we would give up that easily, did you?" He snarled as he strode in.

"Oh, shit..." The man with them muttered. "Not again."

Leonardo ignored the human, his eyes still intent on his target. "I don't like to lose."

"That may be one of the few things we have in common then." He replied. "I don't either." Leonardo flung another shuriken at him and he effortlessly knocked it out of the air. "Would you like to try that again?" He looked at his now bandaged foe. "I'd advise you to just go away."

"I don't think so. We still have something to finish." Leonardo sneered. He would not leave until this turtle was dead at his feet! Until those blue eyes were permanently closed! Then maybe his own blue eyed hauntings would go away...

He ignored the bantering made by their friends and, growling, charged his foe once more. He fought with fury now, refusing to lose, refusing to report failure back to his Master. He would win and he would take his head back as a stuffed trophy! After he raped his woman and killed her too! He would make them both suffer! His lip curled as he swung again and again, ignoring the pain in his side as he fought on. He almost howled with glee when he finally forced an opening in this imposter's defences and his blade was about to taste blood. Until one of his own shuriken came flying back at him. He snapped the blade around and slapped it away again as he glared at the woman who threw it. How dare she. _How dare she!_

He pushed the other turtle away and stalked in on her. "You little bitch." He snarled at her. "How dare you interrupt. I should have killed you when I had the chance." He brought the sword up fully intent to bring it down on her body. He began his swing and it was caught by a similar blade as Blue boy moved back in.

"I don't think so." He snapped and kicked out, knocking Leonardo back.

He growled in fury and frustration as she whispered something to him and he nodded then shouted some stupid command to the others. Suddenly they were all standing in a ring with her in the center. And he couldn't get to her. He just growled and tried to push through, but couldn't. He noticed his brothers go down, one by one, but still he refused to give up.

"It's over." The other Leonardo snapped at him. "You lost."

"It's not over until one of us lies dead on the ground." Leonardo hissed back at him launching another swing of his sword. He blocked and twisted it away and moved in with a strike of his own as their Donatello moved in low with his staff. Leonardo launched over the staff and blocked the swords. But that left him wide out of position to block the kicking Michelangelo as he came flying in. The foot connected with his injured side and pain shot trough his body as their Raphael caught his arm as he flew back, then knocked the air out of his lungs when he was slammed to the ground.

Still, he refused to give up as he stubbornly got back unsteadily onto his feet and was met by an equally determined blue masked turtle. "This ends now." He said quietly and launched a blow to Leonardo's face, and he couldn't get the block up in time. Pain filled his face from the force of the hit and he saw darkness closing in as he fell to his knees. He only had a moment to hope that maybe this time he wouldn't see the eyes, hear the screams, before he blacked out.


	5. Chapter 5

He stood in his room, quietly looking out the window. He was back in his world now, alone. He had left his brothers behind with Bishop as he came here to face the aftermath of his failure. He looked out at the town below, a town that was under his Master's control. And he helped achieve that goal. He had killed, raped, tortured to do that, because that was what was required of him. He did so without mercy, without even giving them a second chance. But yet he found that he had been given one himself when he was in the same situation.

He and his brothers should by all rights be dead, but they lived. The others had won, succeeded in protecting their own interests, and they had spared his life. Suddenly the victory he looked out over now seemed so hollow to him. He fought for power and control, but it had been nothing compared to the strength of his counterpart. Something else fueled the fires behind those blue eyes, and the dark clad turtle couldn't understand what it was. All he knew was that his counterpart had an edge that Leonardo himself didn't have. It was a troubling thought for one who had never been bested by anyone except his Master. And he wondered idly if there was more to fighting than what he saw around him. If there was something else to fight for.

He didn't turn at the quiet knock at the door, but was expecting it. "Enter!" He snapped.

"My Lord, the Master summons you." Came one of the servants voices from behind him.

Leonardo just sighed as he turned from the window and pushed his way past the servant as he left the room. The walk through the corridors seemed to take much longer than usual as he silently made his way to the sitting room. He paused outside the large doors a moment, taking a deep breath before pushing the door open and walking in. He walked up to his quietly waiting Master, and bowed. His eyes closed in preparation for what he knew was coming.

"Where are your brothers? I summoned all of you."

"Still there, Master." Leonardo quietly replied. "Assisting Bishop with his plan."

"So, the price of failure falls solely on you, my student." Came the dire implication.

"So it seems." Leonardo replied in the same quiet voice. The backhand came as he was straightening up from his bow, unseen but not unexpected as he fell backwards to the floor.

"They still live!" Shredder roared as he leaned over to lift Leonardo up by his harness. "Why do they still live?"

The turtle didn't even try to fight back, because he knew it would do no good. Neither would any reason he might give to try and explain. "Because I failed." Was the simple answer he gave.

"Indeed, you have." The man snarled, then struck again.

Leonardo's side exploded in pain as he felt his Master's blades slam into the wound that was already there, ripping it back open and tearing it even wider as he ripped it back out again. His cry of pain rang out on unsympathetic ears as he was dropped back to the floor. His eyes clenched tightly shut against the pain as his hand covered his now much larger wound, the blood now flowing freely out of it under his hand.

"The price for failure will only increase." He was grimly told. "Remember that, if you survive." Then Shredder turned away from him and left the room.

Leonardo struggled to his feet as the blood still poured from his side. He fought through the haze of pain as he stumbled to the door, crashing through it as he stumbled again. Donnie...he had to find Donnie...his little brother would help him...like when they were kids... He collapsed to his knees again as he struggled to get to the room the portal was set up in, tried to get up, and fell again. The room seemed so far away...so far...

The servants that walked by paid him no mind as he kept going, even as he left a trail of blood on the floor behind him. None stopped to help. He had angered the Master and this was his price to pay for it. None would lift a finger to come to his aid, and if he died in this hallway, then so be it.

Leonardo struggled on as his vision began to fade, memories mixing with the current surroundings. He heard the laughter, the joy they had once known when they were children. Under the caring, loving eye of their father he was back in his childhood, playing a simple game of tag. _'You're it Leo!'_ Mikey's voice rang in his head and he remembered it with a smile, even as he stumbled again. _'Not for long!'_ he had laughingly taken up the chase. He fell to the floor again and didn't have the strength to get back up. _'Donnie! No fair using your gizmos!' 'Yeah! Whatcha gonna do 'bout it!'_ the lean little turtle grinned. _'I'll show you what!'_ Leo tackled him and together they rolled across the floor, laughing. Leonardo's breaths were coming heavy now, but still he refused to quit as he crawled along the floor. _'Watch it you pea brains!'_ Raph snapped as they rolled by him. _'Ya almost broke my sculpture!' 'Yeah, like it was even a good one!'_ Mikey teased him and was tackled by Raph, and soon they were rolling across the floor as well. Leonardo inched his way further...so close... _'Hey watch it you bums!' 'You rolled into us!' 'Did not!' 'Did too!'_ He dropped to the floor again, his strength gone, lost in the memories now as he quietly bled out onto the floor. His brothers...he just wanted his brothers...

A shadow fell over him and a moment later he felt hands lifting him up off of the floor. "You dumb shit!" Michelangelo snapped at him as he leaned Leonardo on his shoulder, slinging his arm around his neck. "Why did you go there alone!"

Leonardo forced his eyes open, away from the memories and back into the life of today. The cruel, dark life of now. "Mikey..." He blinked, the face of the little turtle not wanting to leave the face of the adult one he was now looking at. "Had...had to...keep you safe...always keep you...safe...little brother..." The confused Leonardo whispered, letting a moment of who he used to be slip through.

Michelangelo's dark eyes, so different from the blue ones he used to have, softened for a moment at his childhood nickname before he quickly looked away. "I'll get you to Donatello. Just hang in there...Leo..."

Leonardo only nodded his head once before he blacked out.

.

.

"He's coming around." Donatello's voice met his ears as he groggily woke up.

"'Bout time." Raphael's voice came next as Leonardo blinked his eyes open. "You are such a fucking idiot!" He then snapped when he noticed his brother was awake. "Should have let your dumbass bleed out!"

"Then why didn't you!" Leonardo snapped back, glaring at all of them. "It's not like I don't know how you truly feel about me."

"Because we need you to pull this off!" Donatello replied, returning the glare. "None of us want to end up like you at the moment. And if you keep screwing up, it just might become a permanent nap!" He stomped away then to the other side of the lab he was provided.

Raphael just sneered at his elder brother before he left the room altogether.

Leonardo just closed his eyes as he leaned back into the pillows, their words paining him more than he cared to admit. The hate they showed him cutting into him just as deep as any sword. Why did he keep taking this on for them? Why did he keep trying to keep them from the Master's fury? Why...

Another hand lifted him up to a sitting position and a warm mug was placed to his lips. "Drink." Michelangelo told him. "The tea will help."

Leonardo snarled and tried to push the hand away, but his younger brother held firm. He easily ignored the weak struggles as he once again place the mug to where Leonardo was forced to drink it. It didn't help that the look on the younger turtle's face clearly indicated that he would pour it forcefully down his throat if needed.

The eldest just glared at the youngest as he finally removed the mug from his lips. "What? You care?"

For a moment sadness crossed the younger turtles features before it quickly disappeared. "Of course I don't care." He replied quietly. "I don't want to be punished for it if I did."

He then set the mug down and turned away, but Leonardo caught his arm and the paused in the act of leaving. "Then, why? Why did you help me?"

Michelangelo was quiet as he stood there a moment before his very quiet words reached Leonardo. "Because, one time we used to care, and I can't help but wonder what our lives would be like if we still did."

Stunned at those words, Leonardo's grip faltered on his arm and the smaller turtle pulled his arm away then left the lab. But those words stayed with him. He should tell the Master about this, that one of them was starting to falter. He just stared at the door Michelangelo walked through and knew that he wouldn't, because his thoughts were echoing the same things. What _would_ it be like if they cared... What would it be like to live a different life? To live on their own terms? To live like their counterparts?

There was something going on inside him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. A voice reaching out, calling him, begging him to find out, to leave this life behind. Something that had been hidden from him for so long, but so familiar to him. Something he had locked away so long ago, the same day the girl had died...

For a moment, unnoticed by Donatello who was working nearby on something Bishop asked for, Leonardo's black eyes turned light brown as he laid there, struggling to figure out exactly who he was. His hand reached out unseen to the brooding turtle nearby. "Donnie..." He whispered as tears filled his eyes. Tears at what they have all become, tears for his father, tears for the poor child he killed so long ago. He tried to get up, tried to get to his brother. Wanted to make everything between them they way it used to be when they were children. Pain shot through him as he moved to fast, to quickly and he fell gasping back onto the bed. The pain clouding his mind again and the shadow once again took a firm hold on him before he slipped back into unconsciousness.

He didn't see the younger brother as he looked his way, his own eyes filled with tears as they watched him struggle. His own eyes, just for a moment, turning back to the chocolate brown they used to be. Donatello had heard the quiet call that shook him to his very core. A name that hadn't been used since they were children, a name that had been forced not to be used anymore through beatings. A name he missed. His brown eyes watched as his older brother's eyes darkened again before he passed out and a sad sigh escaped him. He too was facing his own dilemma. He had seen what he could have been, a life he could have had. The bond those other turtles shared was something he and his brothers had lost long ago and he didn't realize just how much he wished that they still had it. How much he missed the way things used to be. Not the nightmare it was now. He also knew he would never be able to speak those words, if he wanted to live. He turned back to his work, pushing all those feelings away. He had something he needed to do and wishing wasn't going to change anything.


	6. Chapter 6

They landed softly on the roof of an apartment building in a well off part of town. They hovered in the shadows a moment as they looked the place over. Carefully checking to see if there was any guards.

"This is the place?" Leonardo asked as he looked everything over carefully.

"According to Bishop's information, yes." Donatello replied even as he scanned. "Seems like he relies a lot on the building security, he has nothing installed up here."

"Probably not expecting rooftop visitors." Leonardo grinned a nasty grin. "Let's go show him how faulty his dependance on others is."

They strode up to the door that led to the rooftop penthouse and didn't even try to be stealthy, Raphael just kicked it in.

And there he was, the man they were looking for. Apparently about to have dinner with his lovely wife, how nice...

Leonardo quickly vaulted over the set dining table and grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. "Where is he..." He growled at the man even as his trophy wife was screaming as she was restrained. A few slaps from Donatello shut her up as Raphael held her.

"W-w-w-who..."

"Baxter Stockman." Leonardo growled.

That fool of a scientist was on the verge of ruining everything! Donatello had come up with an unusual reading when he was plugging different coordinates into Bishop's portal. A power reading that hinted at something that could do a very great deal but he wasn't sure which signature it actually was in. They had planned this out very carefully with Bishop. Spent days, days that he used to heal, to get the portals they needed up and running and trying to narrow the different signatures down to the one they needed. Stockman had also worked on the project but had disappeared a few days ago with some of the information used, including blueprints and specs for the basic structure of the portal. Bishop had taken great pains to hide what he was doing, but this idiot couldn't even figure out how to tie his shoes! Not to mention they had their own uses for the portal and didn't want to arouse the suspicions of certain, meddling, turtles!

So here they were, in the home of his well paid assistant, drilling the man for Stockman's location before everything went to shit.

"I don't know!"

"The information I have tells me otherwise." Leonardo replied, rapidly losing his patience.

"Honest!"

Leonardo just narrowed his eyes at him. "Very well then." He calmly replied then looked over his shoulder. "Amuse yourself with the woman." Three answering grins met the husband's shocked look as Michelangelo ripped her dress off, Raphael quickly cut off what little she had left on before pinning her to the dining room table. Her screams of terror filled the room as Leonardo looked back at the man.

"No...stop..." He whispered as Raphael spread her legs apart while the other two were holding her arms down. Her screams were desperate now and his face paled. "Sacks tower! He's in a subbasement at Sacks tower!" He looked back at Leonardo as he made no move to call off his brothers. Tears were running down his face now. "Please! I told you! Call them off!"

"And who told you that I would?" Leonardo grinned at him, just as her pain filled scream tore at their ears. "I might take her myself, if she lives."

The screams kept up as Raphael began to pound her, hard. His ecstatic grunts drowned out by her pain as he rammed into her again and again.

The man's knees gave out, but Leonardo firmly held him against the wall and forced him to watch as Raphael finished, and as Michelangelo began. She was bleeding now, but still she was raped, by Donatello this time. She was barely conscious when Leonardo threw the husband at his brothers, then took his turn. His eyes watched the husband as he released himself from his slit, and rammed into her hard enough to make her scream again as she weakly struggled under him. Her crying filled his ears, driving him on as he thrust into her over and over. By now she was bleeding heavily, but he didn't care. The shadow was in control and was enjoying every movement, just as much as it was enjoying the man's pain. He wrapped a hand around her throat as he began to climax, tightening his grip even as he squeezed off her supply of air. Her body convulsed as it fought for air, her hands weakly trying to break the hold he had on her neck until with a loud grunt he exploded in side of her, and snapped her neck in the process.

Leonardo slid out of the limp body and casually picked up her torn dress before cleaning himself off with it then throwing it into the burning fireplace. The husband had collapsed into a pile of sobbing flesh, crying his wife's name over and over again. Leonardo snorted with contempt at the sight. "Finish him, then destroy this place."

He turned to walk out of the penthouse just as the sound of Raph's sai impaling the man hit his ears and the crying ceased. It wasn't until he was in the silence outside that he noticed his hands trembling again. He just stood there and stared at his hands as the penthouse was set aflame behind him. What he didn't hear was his soul crying out in despair, because the shadow wouldn't let him hear it.

.

.

It took them until the next day to figure out how to get into Sack's building with out alerting all kinds of guards. He had apparently dealt with the other turtles before and took precautions against their constant meddling. It took some time, but they finally made it down to the subbasement and calmly walked up to the scientist.

A calm Leonardo wasn't feeling. What they had done the night before still caused his hands to shake and he felt disgusted with himself. More and more he was regretting what he had to do. For the first time he began to hate himself. Hate the side he couldn't control. Hated the voice inside him that seemed to get louder. Hated life...

"Well, look who we just happened to run into." Leonardo said dryly as he approached the busy scientist and he jumped. "Never thought to run into you on one of these pleasant afternoon subterranean walks." He crossed his arms as he glared at the scientist.

Stockman spun around, his eyes wide. "How did you find me?"

"Your assistant told us." Leonardo told him. "And I hope you didn't need him, he came down with a bad case of dead and won't be available to you anymore."

The man in front of him swallowed hard as Leonardo stalked in. "Now, convince me why I shouldn't put you in the same state!" He hissed as a katana came out.

"I didn't mean nothing by it! Honestly! I just wanted to see if it would work!"

"Of course it works shit for brains!" Leonardo snapped back at him. "How in the hell do you think we got here!"

"Leonardo..." Donatello placed a hand on the fuming turtle's arm. "I think, as surprising as it seems to be, this idiot actually solved a problem for us."

Leonardo looked at him questioningly as Donatello led him away, out of earshot of the about to piss his pants scientist. "This is our chance to find the the portal the reading came from on our own." Donatello told him quietly. "If this contraption works, then we can scout the portal signatures at our convenience, keep sidetracking Bishop, and find the power source for the Master."

Leonardo looked thoughtfully at the portal then before he quietly nodded. "Do you have what we need?"

"Yes, I've narrowed the signatures down to about fifty. And I kept that to myself. Bishop doesn't know how close we are."

"Do it." He ordered and Donatello began walking towards the machine. "My dear Dr. Stockman, thank you for supplying us with a wonderful toy. We'll be using it now." Leonardo told the pathetic moron as Donatello downloaded the signatures that he needed. "I do hope you don't mind."

"N-n-n-not at all..."

"Good, then I won't have to kill you."

Stockman's face paled.

Soon Donatello had it working and the portal opened with it's eerie blue glow. Beyond was a primitive looking land with untouched green fields and full, lush forests. If he cared, Leonardo would think the place beautiful. Even as he scoffed at the notion of beauty, a part of him longed to go visit the tranquil looking place.

"I'm impressed Stockman." Donatello chuckled. "It seems Bishop wasn't completely wrong about you. You're not completely an incapable idiot."

"Why thank- wait what?"

He was ignored. "It's ready." Donatello told them. "And I believe this may be the portal we need."

Leonardo just nodded as he led the way through it. The first thing he noticed was how clean the air smelled here. No smog, no stench of shitty food vendors or vehicle exhausts. This place was calm, peaceful...it was sickening.

"And?" He looked at Donatello as he walked beside him.

"It's here." He replied. "I'm not sure exactly where right now, but it's here."

"What manner of demonic creatures are you!" A voice hissed from behind them. "And with what kind of sorcery do you defile my land with!"

They turned to see a giant white...rabbit? Leonardo snorted with laughter. A rabbit? "Anyone need a good luck charm?" He asked his brothers as they looked at the creature amused.

"Not really." Raphael replied flatly as he pulled out his weapons.

"Still, he may be useful." Donatello said. "He may know the layout of the land."

"Answer me!" The rabbit had his own weapons ready by now, and he looked ready to use them as he eyed them distrustfully.

"Take him." Leonardo decided. "Alive." He pointedly added at the evil smirk on Raphael's face. The smirk disappeared into a snarl.

"Fine..." He grumbled as they circled the rabbit, not sure how good he actually was.

"Very well you miserable creatures...feel the sting of my blade!" The rabbit charged.

It was Raphael whom he went for first and the large turtle had a surprisingly hard time dealing with the rabbit. He was skilled, very skilled. This may be a potential problem. At least until Donatello managed to get behind him with a taser, and put it to use. They watched him twitch a moment before he collapsed to the ground.

"Well, that was interesting." Donatello mumbled as he nudged the body with his foot. "Seems like this place is a bit different than what we are used too."

"We'll have to get how different out of him." Leonardo agreed as Donatello began to tie him up. "Avoid any further surprises." Then his eyes narrowed. "Speaking of..." He turned and stormed back trough the portal and glared at Stockman. "How many times?" He snarled.

"How many times for what?" He asked nervously.

"How many times have you opened this fucking thing!"

"Just a few... Why?

"Because it seems you have cause some attention with it you idiot! There was someone waiting for us on the other side!"

"I just opened a few worlds, you know, just to make sure it worked and to iron out the bugs..."

"And...did you?" Leonardo asked him dangerously.

Stockman nodded quickly, knowing what would happen if he said no. If he had to lie, then, oh well. As long as he turned the portal off before they went back outside they would never know this whole side of town was blacked out...he hoped. He seriously hoped that this wouldn't come back and bite him in the ass.


	7. Chapter 7

**Takes place between Chapters 38 - 41 in "Realities Collide"**

They were gathered around the rabbit as the portal hummed softly behind them.

"He's a stubborn one." Michelangelo noted. "Been at this for awhile now."

Leonardo just grunted and kicked the rabbit again, for the countless time tonight. Stupid motherfucking- He paused as he clearly felt hate, and it was aimed towards him but not coming from anyone next to him. He spun around and looked up to the shadows of the catwalk, and met a pair of familiar blue eyes. Dammit all to hell! How did they know? He was beginning to understand the frustration those who dealt with them on a regular basis here felt. They were good, very good...

"Still trying to right the wrongs of your world I see." Leonardo called up to them. "It's to bad you can't sneak up on yourself though isn't it?" He didn't have to look behind him to know that his own brothers had spotted the group above them.

"Usagi! Oh my lord guys they have Usagi!" The woman cried out then.

Usagi? Who in the fuck was Usagi? He tried to puzzle it out as they had a quick conversation up there, then said fuck it and concentrated to the matter at hand as they came dropping down. Their Leonardo came down with her in his arms. Leonardo watched as he ran as the other turtle hit the ground in a roll and let her go as he passed over her, then was up on his feet to meet Leonardo's blades. She got up and ran around him, well out of his reach, with another woman he hadn't seen yet and he soon lost sight of them both as he kept his focus on the blue masked turtle in front of him.

"Stop them you fools! They will ruin everything!" Stockman was screaming behind him. That was followed shortly with the sounds of gunfire. A bullet whizzed by the two combatants as it narrowly missed their heads. What they hell were they doing back there! Couldn't Stockman hold back two fucking women? He managed to kick the other Leonardo away and risked a quick look just in time to see the gun fall from his hand, hit the floor with a discharge that hit the control panel and then she beat the snot out of him.

He snarled in fury and began to charge the woman, this meddlesome woman! She was just as bad as those damn goody two shoe turtles! He completely ignored the new woman as he rushed past her, his dark eyes focused on the one that was his counterpart's pet. She would pay tonight for this...she would _pay_!

"Vicky! Look out!" The other woman screamed and the call was heard. Her eyes grew wide after she spun around and saw him coming for her, his intent perfectly clear on his face as he leapt for her. She somehow managed to duck under his leap, but he reached out and grabbed the back of her sweater and pulled her along with him through the now fluctuating portal. And it snapped shut behind them once they passed through.

He lost his grip on her when they hit the ground and she promptly got up and ran into the forest they both found themselves in. He snarled again and rolled to his feet then chased after her. It was pathetically easy to catch up with her and he grabbed her and slammed her against a nearby tree before clamping his hand around her throat.

"You are a very meddlesome person." He growled at her. "You didn't actually think you could run from me did you?"

"I sure as hell wasn't going to stay with you!" She snapped back, her eyes full of fear. "Let me go!" She tried kicking out at him but he easily blocked it with his own leg.

He looked calmly down at her as he was once again overcome by that scent and he began to feel something start to stir in him. "You are a feisty one, aren't you? I think I know why he likes you so much."

"You don't know anything!" She hissed, still struggling.

He laughed softly, thoroughly amused by her pitiful attempts to break free. "Keep it up. I'm enjoying this."

"That's because you're a pervert."

"Never denied it." He brought his head close to hers. "And I'm about to show you just how much of one I am." He said softly as his free hand began to undo her pants, roughly. Again she tried to fight back and her attempts only stirred his arousal more. "Oh yes, I am really going to enjoy this..." He tightened his hold on her throat to where she was struggling to breath, calming her movements some as she began to cry.

It didn't bother him at all, and he reached a hand inside and began to fondle her warm flesh "Mmmmmm. Nice and warm. And of course your fear make this even more delicious." He began to push a finger inside her, hard, taking pleasure from her cry of pain, feeling her tightness around him. "Tight too. I bet you give him a good ride." He was getting more aroused by her fear and weak struggles, he wouldn't be able to hold himself back much longer. Her fear aroused him, his scent on her aroused him, he wanted to take her, now... He brought his head close to hers again. "I hope you like a good hard pound, because that's what I'm about to give you." Then he licked her cheek.

And a moment later there was a sharp pain on his own cheek as she bit down on him, hard. He clearly felt her break the skin as her teeth sunk in deep and he dropped her in pain and rage as his hand covered his wound. She took that moment of inattention to flee, but he couldn't follow.

His eyes were wide, his breathing coming in heavy breaths as he stood there. That bite had awakened his other side again and it was pleading for him to stop, leave her be. Hoping that her lover would come and save her. Emotions whirled around in his head as he once again fought with himself. Once again he saw those accusing blue eyes. He collapsed to his knees, his head in his hands as the two sides fought for control. No...he couldn't do this anymore! He couldn't... But he had too, it was what he did... But it wasn't right... He had been trained to do it...to hurt others to get what he needed... "Stop it!" He whispered out into the night forest. "Stop it!" He almost screamed as tears ran down his cheeks. He just wanted it all to stop! The voices, the hate, the visions, all of it! "Stop...please stop..." He whimpered as his hands dropped to the ground and he leaned on them, tears flowing from his eyes.

But, as usual, the shadow won and took control again. It took longer, but it slowly forced everything else away again. He wasn't really sure how long he was there, struggling to control himself when he finally stood up. His eyes were now focused on where she disappeared to, and he slipped into the woods to find her. He had something he needed to finish.

His meltdown already forgotten he tracked her and found her very easily. Why in the hell was the stupid broad in a tree? Did she seriously think that he wouldn't find her up there? Lord... He rolled his eyes at the stupidity he had to deal with. He knew he should just go up there and deal with her, but he didn't. He found himself watching her instead from his hidden spot in the trees. With curiosity of all things. What did he see in her? Why did he protect her? What was so important about her that he would risk everything? She was just a plain woman, and definitely not very skilled. Leonardo had taken women just like her so many times he couldn't count, then never gave them a second thought. So why did his counterpart even deal with her? Vicky...he remembered the other woman saying... Her name is Vicky...

Still he just stood there, quietly watching as she stayed hunkered down about forty feet up. And he finally admitted to himself that it was out of reluctance. He didn't _want_ to do this... He didn't _want_ to rob another little girl of a parent... But he had his own life to think about. He still had to eliminate those other turtles, and she would be a major step to breaking one of them down.

And she bit him! She had the nerve to fucking bite him! He didn't know what was worse, the fact that she did or the fact that no one had done it since he was a kid and she had even been able to do it! If he didn't kill her he'd never live that down!

Muttering to himself he finally moved out from the trees and glared up at her as she watched him in return. Then he began the forty foot climb. He saw the desperation on her face as he drew closer and she began to look around frantically before she found a branch and snapped it of, waving it around her like a club. Leonardo just rolled his eyes again, oh please... She did take a swing at him when he got close enough, one that he easily dodged though. She swung at him again and he pulled out a katana and knocked the branch from her hands and she watched as it tumbled to the ground below.

She looked around frantically again for something to use, but found nothing and by now he almost had her. She took a deep breath, then leapt off of the branch she had been sitting on. He was so shocked that he couldn't fully comprehend what she just did and took a half assed swipe with his katana, managing to slice her leg as she fell past him. The fucking crazy ass bitch...just jumped _out_ of a tree... Well...shit...

He looked down and saw her clinging to a branch below, just as the sounds of it breaking met his ears. Her eyes widened as she also heard the sound, then the branch snapped and she went tumbling down, flopping and plopping into every branch she came across. Huh, didn't seem like that idea worked out to good now, did it? Hell at this rate he wouldn't have to kill her, her own stupidity would... He actually winced a little at her thud when she finally hit the ground... _that_ must have hurt...

Even from up here he could make out her quiet groan as her body shifted. "You have _got_ to be shitting me..." He mumbled under his breath. The dumb broad was actually still _alive_ after all of that? Jesus christ...can't even count on the stupid laws of physics to do a damn job right... _Now_ he had to go back down and get her...

Grumbling a lot of unpleasant things, he quickly made his way down the damn tree and took up the chase again. She didn't make it very far when he hit the ground and by now he was more than a little angry at the problems she was causing him tonight. One fucking woman shouldn't be so god damn hard to kill! He leapt and tackled her from behind and they both hit the ground.

She struggled to crawl out from under him and he spun her onto her back and slapped her across the face but she still struggled. Her hand found a rock and she slammed it to the side of his head, stunning him a moment as she again tried to crawl away. He quickly shook the blow off and again scrambled on top of her before he slapped her again, and once more. "You're almost more trouble than you are worth." He hissed at her.

"Get off of me!" She screamed back, slapping his already sore cheek. Her arm came up for another hit but he pulled out a knife and sliced that attacking arm.

"I was going to let you live long enough to get some pleasure out of you." He snarled into her fear filled face. "Now I'm just going to kill you. Painfully." He brought the knife to her chest and slowly began to push it in. "This is going to hurt you sooo much, and I'm going to enjoy it." Again he found amusement at her tears and the pitiful attempts to hold his arm back. But at the same time he heard his own screams in his head, screams for him to stop this...

"GET OFF OF HER!" A voice thundered in the clearing and Leonardo felt someone slam into him, knocking him off of her. Leonardo suddenly found himself in the fight of his life as his counterpart locked onto him and began to pummel him mercilessly. Leonardo was too busy trying to get him off to even think about fighting back. Leonardo finally managed to get a leg in between them and shoved him off and the other turtle hit the ground in a roll and came to a stop on his feet, blades drawn.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you to shreds right now." The blue masked turtle said. "You just crossed a line you will wish you didn't."

Leonardo laughed at him, the idiot still didn't understand. "Because I know breaking her, killing her, will make you easier to deal with, you soft hearted fool. It's never been about her. It's been about breaking you." He narrowed his eyes. "She is your weakness. The key to your defeat and I will use her if it helps me. Even now your concern for her blinds you."

"Try me, and see how blind I am." Came the grim, deathly quiet reply.

Well, since he insisted... Leonardo rushed him. They came together in a flurry of movement, blades clashing and circling around each other. Leonardo knew right away that he was trying to keep the fight away from her as she struggled to get up, but couldn't. So of course the dark clad turtled tried to use that to his advantage as he tried to get around him, to her.

"I won't let you near her." Blue Boy snarled . Twisting his blade around the one he had just blocked and bringing it down and wide.

"Weakness." Leonardo snarled back and brought his free blade in only to have his other one meet it. Leonardo pushed with enough force against the locked blades to send his opponent falling backwards and he had to do a flip over her to keep from falling on her. He saw his chance as she lay now undefended in front of him, and swung his blades down, only to have them blocked.

"Strength." The rabbit from earlier told him firmly as he held the turtles blades back as he stood over Vicky, straddling her with his legs. "You shall not harm her." He pushed the attacking blades away, then followed them with his own. His blade circling in to catch both katanas and swinging them out wide to the side, then he spun himself inside those out flung blades and landed an elbow into the exposed side, knocking Leonardo even further away. He steadied himself and growled in frustration as he launched another flurry, that was picked off cleanly by the rabbit ronin. He had to do this! He couldn't afford to lose again!

Then the other Leonardo was there, his blades reaching out and and slapping the katanas out of the way as he came in spinning, then followed that spin through with a kick that sent Leonardo flying and he hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him for a moment and he glared at the turtle who stood there calmly and watched him as he stood back up. "Please, Usagi. Get her back, I'll deal with him."

"As you wish, Leonardo." The rabbit answered carefully picked her up, then carried her through the portal that was now open not far away.

Now it was just the two turtles and they stood facing each other, hate filling their eyes as they exchanged glares. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You are a coward." The other turtle spat at him. "If you want me, fight me. Leave her out of it!"

"But it would be so much more fun to do it my way." Leonardo grinned at him. "I like watching her suffer..."

Leonardo fully underestimated the shit storm he unleashed with that comment. Blue eyes flared as he came in and Leonardo found that he was having a very difficult time trying to keep those swords away from him. Again this turtle fought with something fueling him that he couldn't keep up with. A foot found it's way past his defences and landed solidly against his plastron and Leonardo went flying back through the portal and into a group of men who just happened to be in his landing zone. He also noticed that he landed in the middle of a huge cluster fuck and scrambled to get out of the way.

Even as he made his way around the room, he watched his prey as he picked Vicky up and cradled her gently in his arms. She buried her face against him and held him tight as he began to make his way across the room, somehow managing to get past all of Bishop's men that had filled the place.

Leonardo snarled as he pushed some of those own men out of his way, his intent clear as he broke through the crown in front of them. "I'm not done with you." He hissed.

"I've had enough you." Came the quiet reply. "Get out of my way." He said through clenched teeth.

Leonardo brought the blades down, but once again they were blocked by that meddlesome rabbit! He was about to scream in frustration when a blinding pain exploded on the side of his head as the other Leonardo connected with the side of his head with a foot and once again he found himself airborne before he smashed into the wall and slid down. He looked up in shock at the other turtle and met a blue eyes glare that actually chilled Leonardo to his bones. The glare told him to stay down, and this time he listened.

He just quietly watched as they left before he got up to follow him. He watched as they made it outside and over the fence before he leapt up there himself. There he just quietly watched as his brother's joined him. "Still haven't managed to kill her I see." Donatello smugly noted as they watched the group retreat.

Leonardo just snarled at him as he held them back from charging. His eyes had met those icy blue orbs again, and he clearly read the warning in them. Come and try if you dare, and you will die. Leonardo didn't want to die.


	8. Chapter 8

He watched long after they disappeared, his gaze lost in the direction they had gone. He had failed...again. He just could not beat him and he couldn't understand why.

"The Master is going to love hearing about this." Raphael smirked as he looked at his older brother.

"Is the overall plan still in effect?" He asked calmly in return, his eyes still lost in the distance.

"Yes, but our plan of going off on our own is pretty much shot to shit." Donatello told him. "They blew up Stockman's portal."

"Then the Master does not need to know about this incident." Leonardo stood up.

"You're...going to _lie_ to him?" Michelangelo asked incredulously.

"No." Leonardo calmly replied. "Just not tell him everything."

"Same difference."

"Depends on your point of view." He then turned away and led his brothers back towards Bishop's hideout. He supposed the good news was that what they had been told to do by the agent had been accomplished, even if it wasn't done by them. Stockman's portal was destroyed. And from looking at his brother's clothing, they had been close to the explosion. He looked at his brothers with slight amusement as they tried to keep the tattered remains of their gear from falling off. "Do I dare ask what happened?" He chuckled with a raised eyeridge.

"Could ask the same of you." Donatello's own raised eyeridge met him. "Interesting mark on your cheek. Looks like a bite wound."

Leonardo just glared at him, his cheek now throbbing because he had been reminded of it.

"So tell me, did she bite you?" Donatello asked amused.

"Shut up."

"She did!" Michelangelo chuckled. "She bit him!"

Leonardo didn't even blink as he turned and punched his little brother in the face. "I said shut _up_!" He roared at the prone turtle, then glared at his other brothers.

None of them said anymore about the bite on his cheek and Leonardo once again stormed off.

After a rooftop journey, they finally made it to Bishop's current main hbase, or hide out, or fancy hole in the ground...whatever you wanted to call this shitplie.

They walked into the control room in a lower level and found the black suited man there, working on the second portal as he fine tuned it. "Did you find him?"

Leonardo snorted. "Of course."

"Is he still alive?" Bishop asked as he turned to him and Leonardo just shrugged and looked at his brothers.

"Is he?"

"Yes." Donatello replied. "Well, he was when we left Sack's subbasement."

"Slacking are you?" Leonardo asked him with a raised brow.

"Had something else on our minds." Was the calm reply as Donatello met his eyes.

Leonardo felt something stir in him at that gaze. He instinctively knew that the something else was him. He searched his brother's face, and could have sworn he saw something there...concern?

"I suppose that is a good thing." Bishop returned to what he was doing. "I may need him later on."

"I don't see why." Raphael muttered. "The man is an idiot."

Bishop just turned and gave the large turtle a sly smile, a smile that really didn't sit well with Leonardo as his instincts kicked in. "I... have another experient planned that I may require his assistance on."

"Anything that concerns us?" Donatello asked him.

"Not at the moment." Again Leonardo felt that warning twinge and his eyes narrowed as Bishop once again returned to his work. The man wasn't telling them everything. "Donatello, have you any new portal co-ordinates for me to put in?"

Leonardo caught the questioning look in Donatello's eyes, and gave him a quick nod. Now wasn't the time to hide the information from him. With the only other known portal large enough to bring large groups of individuals through now...out of commision, they needed this one. "Yes, but unfortunately I don't have the information with me right now." His eyes flashed as Leonardo took in his now bare arm. The eldest had a feeling he knew why his younger brother didn't have that information, because those pathetic do-gooders took his tech. Seems like he wasn't the only one feeling the frustration of their skills as Donatello caught that look, and glared back at him. "But give me a day or two and I'll have everything ready."

"Very well, I'll then proceed to begin the preparations of our little endeavor."

Leonardo just sighed quietly as he turned away from all of them and left the room. It was the only way to hide his doubts from all of them. But he couldn't hide them from himself.

Raphael just quietly watched him go, his own eyes narrowed in thought. Leonardo was losing his way, even he could tell that. The fact that the woman still survived after being alone with him for hours proved it. Now was his chance to inform the Master, to have his brother removed from command and himself inserted. But he chose not to do that. Because he knew his brother wouldn't survive the demotion. And it was that thought that bothered him the most. As much as he detested his brothers, all of them, he didn't want to see any of them die. He hated them as much as he hated himself, but at the same time he found that he couldn't go on without them. He just growled and shook his head in frustration before he followed Leonardo out of the room.

He caught up with the older brother in the corridor, his dark gaze staring his brother down. "Why does she live?" He growled at Leonardo.

"Because she has the devil's own luck!" His brother snapped back.

Raphael wasn't buying it. He could clearly see the quick moment of doubt that crossed that face. It was quick, but it was there. "You _let_ her live... You risk us all because you were too weak to finish off one female?" He almost roared the question.

Leonardo's face turned into a frightening snarl as he quickly spun and punched Raphael in the fact hard enough to send the large turtle crashing into the wall. "I've had my say on the matter!" He growled as he stood, trembling in anger, his eyes locked on Raphael. "There is no danger if none of you even inform him. As to why she lives? That is also my concern, not yours."

Raphael should be furious, enraged, as his brother walked away from him again. He knew the woman was a key step to bringing down the Master's main targets on this world so he could come in unhindered. Hun was already here, quietly building his own forces even as the Master began training others to infiltrate this world. But a small part of him was glad his brother had failed. For some reason the thought of one of them, even one from another world, mourning the loss of their lover...disturbed him. Another thought crossed his mind as Leonardo stalked away. A small slip of the tongue, but one he had noticed.

"Him?" He whispered at his brother's retreating back. "Why do you risk everything with such a careless act of disrespect... Why did you not call him by his title?" But again he found that he would not report it and that also shocked him along with other changes he had been noticing since they had first made contact with their counterparts. "What is happening to all of us?" That was a question he couldn't answer.

.

.

Michelangelo laid on his bed later on that night, idely tossing a kunai into the air and catching it before flipping it back up again. He kept replaying things in his mind, unable to put them to rest. No matter how hard he tried, his mind held onto those images.

When he had at first came here, he was more than happy to take on the challenge of disposing of these turtles. Now? He didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore. He had thought he had everything he could ever need. Respect, a place of power, strong allies and he woke up every morning. Was all you needed out of life...right?

But he wondered if there was more. Those others fought with...something... He shook his head, thoroughly confused. Never had they been bested, but every time they came up against those four... What did they have? What training had they recieved? Why were they so much better? What did they do so different? He just didn't understand.

But there was one thing he did understand...or so he thought. He had felt something he hadn't felt in years as he watched their Leonardo's pain and fear twisted features after the portal incident. He felt sorrow, grief...because Michelangelo knew that the woman would more than likely be dead soon, at the hands of his own brother. All of them were right, the loss of the woman would bring their leader down and that thought saddened the youngest turtle greatly. He found himself wishing that the female would somehow survive, just so that other turtle wouldn't have to grieve her loss.

Was he wrong for feeling that? Was he wrong for feeling sympathy for them as they struggled with what happened? Was he wrong for wishing he and his own brothers could feel the same? Were these feeling worth his life?

Up went the kunai again, and back down into his palm before it went up again, and down. Watching them in the last few encounters, he was jealous of what they had. A camaraderie, friendship, brotherhood, that he himself hadn't felt since they were children. Before they had been taken away from their father in a way that still gave him nightmares. How much had they lost that night? How far had they gone into the pits of hell? Up, and down. Would they ever be able to redeem themselves? Up, and down.

He caught it in his fist and looked at that blade he held in his hand. For once he was thinking clearly, the growling monster that fed off of his violent actions silent for the moment. He remembered again her sheer terror that night out in the woods. And the terror of the other Leonardo when his woman was swept away from him. Two lives now tainted by the arrival of this set of brothers. And they were only the first. Tears formed in his eyes as he remembered the penthouse, the wife... the monster fed off of her fear as he raped her but he himself hated every thrust. He loathed himself for what they did, and would continue to do here. It would all just be a repeat of the life he lived back home. Rape, torture, violence...

He sat up in the bed, swinging his legs around and placed his feet on the floor, his eyes never leaving the kunai in his hand. "I can't do this anymore..." He whispered out into the room. "I don't want to do this anymore." He placed the kunai to his wrist, his once blue eyes full of tears. "Father, if I end my pain, will I get to see you? Would you even want to see me after everything I've done? Or will I go to hell...where I belong..." His hand trembled as he began to put pressure against his skin. But he couldn't finish the deed. His hand froze, just barely cutting in. He wanted to leave this hell of a life, but didn't want to go alone. He never wanted to be alone, he wanted his brothers, needed his brothers and couldn't leave them behind. "Dammit!" He hissed as he threw the kunai into the wall in front of him. "Dammit it all to hell..." He dropped his head into his hands, utterly defeated. No, he wouldn't leave them. Either they all went, or he stayed. He wouldn't leave them, even if it did mean he had to relive everything all over again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Takes place during chapters 44 - 51 in "Realities Collide".**

Leonardo watched as the large portal fired up. He stood with his arms crossed as he once again caught sight of that serene landscape on the other side.

"So far so good." Michelangelo muttered quietly next to him. Leonardo didn't say anything, but just looked at his little brother. He had used to be the boisterous one, the playful one. Always smiling, laughing. Now he was the quietest one out of all of them. And just recently his dark eyes had a dull, lost look in them. The older turtle's hand twitched, wanting so much to reach out and comfort the turtle standing next to him, but didn't dare do it. To many were watching, there was always someone watching...

"So it seems." Leonardo replied instead, turning his head back towards the portal as Bishop's men prepared to enter it. They never got the chance to go through though before it seemed to grow fuzzy and distorted. There was a sudden wind that came from it, pushing at all of those in the room. Leonardo spun towards Donatello, his eyes angry. "Now what's wrong!" He snapped.

"Another portal opened up at the same location!" Came the frantic reply as Donatello tried to shut the whole contraption down.

Leonardo held in his scream of frustration... He was rapidly growing tired of this place! His anger turned to astonishment as two little bodies, children, came tumbling out of the portal and hit the floor hard. He just stared in wide eyed shock...that little girl...he knew that little girl...

Sure enough, her mother came flying out of the portal next to hit the floor with a loud groan of pain and the others came falling in right behind her before Donatello finally managed to get that portal closed.

"Get them!" Bishop snapped and his men immediately began to open fire at the group lying by the portal.

Leonardo didn't move, even as his brothers did. He just stared at those small, scared children, couldn't take his eyes off of them until their Michelangelo managed to cover them with his body, protecting them from the bullets heading their way. "No..." He barely whispered, the commotion of more men arriving with those taser sticks covering the sound.

"Mikey! Get them out of here!" Their Leonardo shouted over the noise even as he fought to keep the men away from Vicky.

Their Michelangelo looked around desperately to find a way to do just that when his eyes locked onto the wall nearby. Leonardo followed his gaze and saw the vent he was aiming for as the rabbit from earlier joined him. "Leo! I need some cover bro!"

Leonardo felt something kick him in the gut at the nicknames they called each other. He had once called his brothers by those names... He closed his eyes briefly to fight the feelings away that were threatening to spill over. Why was it that every time he saw this group he was so vividly reminded of what they used to be! Why did he have to keep seeing what he could have been! Why did his life go to shit when theirs didn't!

His eyes opened just in time to see their Leonardo leap up into the air and slice open a pipe and steam came pouring out of it. "Mikey! GO!"

Leonardo's eyes narrowed as the steam rapidly filled the room, noticing some of Bishop's men trying to go for the children...and he acted without thought. His movements lost in the commotion around him, he rapidly pulled out some shuriken and threw them at the men when they got to close to where the children were last seen, hitting one in the back of the neck and another in the base of his skull, both crumpled to the floor, lifeless. When the steam finally cleared, the turtle, rabbit and children were gone but the others didn't fare as well as they were all laid out on the floor.

Again Leonardo kept in the background as they were gathered up. "Take them to the storage room down the hall." Bishop snapped at his men. "And have some vehicles prepared to ship them out of here as soon as possible. I want them all out of here and enroute to different complexes within the hour."

"Yes, sir!" A couple of his men dashed from the room.

Bishop didn't acknowledge the men who carried out his orders but instead turned to look at Leonardo with a raised brow as he motioned to the two dead men on the floor. "They got in my way." The turtle growled as he crossed his arms.

"See that your aim improves in the future!" The man snapped.

Leonardo just turned from the man, and caught Michelangelo watching him. The younger turtle's eyes flickered for a moment to the vent before they settled onto his big brother again. "You let them go." He said quietly, with a desperate hope in his eyes. Leonardo again looked his brother over very carefully, taking in his worn, troubled features. Somehow knowing this meant more to him than just catching Leonardo in the act of mercy.

"Yes, I did." He replied just as quietly.

"Why?" Again those younger eyes had a need in them. He needed to know the answer. "Why all of a sudden do you protect them?"

"I don't. Just the children. I...can't..." Leonardo took in a deep breath to calm himself, then looked his brother full in the eyes. "I can't deal with another child staring at me in my dreams." He finally admitted. "Especially not those."

Michelangelo's eyes wandered back to the vent. "I...understand. I might have done the same thing. But I just wish I had the chance at my counterpart again. Defeating him would have...given me a reason to believe that my life wasn't a lie." He sighed then, a strangely sad sound and Leonardo just quietly watched his brother work through this. "His very presence mocks everything I have ever done."

"As does mine." Leonardo told him before turning away from him.

"Leonardo, why don't you tell the Master? You know that...I am struggling with this."

"Because then I would have to report myself." Came the quiet answer before another one of Bishop's men came back in.

"The trucks are ready Agent Bishop." He called across the room.

"Then get them loaded up in them and moved out of here. I don't want them within fifty miles of this place, or within each other."

"I'll go with him, to make sure there isn't any trouble from them." Leonardo told Bishop who only nodded in reply as he once again tried to prepare his men for the upcoming mission.

Leonardo let the man and some more of Bishop'd troops lead the way, his own thoughts wandering. He should have beaten his little brother for his invasive questions and signs of weakness but instead he chose to reach out to him. It was like being here...thinned the influence of their Master on them and every encounter they have with their counterparts widens the gap. He was seeing and feeling things that wasn't the norm for him, and it was starting to show on his brothers as well. Leonardo should pull them all away from this environment, but found himself reluctant to do so. And it was that doubt he was feeling over everything that fueled his anger this time as they reached the room they were being held in.

Bishop's man was already in there when Leonardo walked up, but he could still hear the conversation clearly through the open door. "Looks like you are going on a road trip. Bishop wants you all separated and shipped off, and just to make sure you don't give us any trouble..." Leonardo clearly heard Vicky's gasp of pain. "You will behave, if you give a damn about her."

"Let her go." Leonardo's counterpart growled. "She's already hurt, you're making it worse." Even the Leonardo could hear the anger in the tone.

"Good, then maybe that will be your incentive to behave."

"I'll show you incentive." Their Raphael growled.

"No, actually you won't." Leonardo told him as he stepped into the room. "It's time to go, your rides are ready. It's a shame your brother abandoned you. My little brother was looking forward to playing with him." Glares was the only thing he got as the men began to untie the legs of their captives.

Leonardo caught the concerned looks the others gave an obviously struggling Vicky, obviously holding back out of concern for her. It was pathetic. They could probably easily break free if they weren't burdened with care for her. "Still think she isn't a weakness to you?" He taunted his counterpart. who just returned his comment with a glare. Leonardo laughed with amusement over it all before turning away from the helpless turtle. "Bring them to the garage." He told the guards.

He was about to walk out the door when all hell broke loose behind him. He turned to see Vicky stumbling away after Raphael pushed her out of the way, and they then began making short work out of the incompetent idiots that Bishop had. Leonardo just mumbled under his breath as he moved back in. Why did this have to be so damn difficult? How hard could it be to keep tied up prisoners in line? Muttering about the lack of intelligence in his human cohorts, he walked up to the other female, since she was closest, and grabbed her arm. He pulled her close to him and wrapped his other arm around her head. "I advise you to quit, or I'll break her neck."

They looked at each other and let the few guards there were left be, and they weren't happy about it either. Vicky was pulled back up to her feet by one of the few remaining guards standing. Finally, he could get them out of the here before anything else could go wrong.

Leonardo's eyes narrowed when he saw Vicky's widen in fear filled shock at something behind him, and he turned just in time to see, a fucking _spitball?_ , coming his way. He sidestepped it and looked incredulously at where it had came from and laid eyes on a grinning little boy. You _had_ to be fucking kidding...a god damned _spitball_? Really? The kid then laughed and disappeared into the clutter of the room.

"Get that little brat." Leonardo growled and two guards went into the back of the room to go find him. While they were searching for him, the little girl popped into the doorway and blew a raspberry, then flipped them the bird and then she, too, ran back out laughing.

He just stared a moment at the child, not really believing what he was seeing as a few more guards ran out of the room to get her. But neither set of guards came back.

Damn it! Was this turtle really that fucking stupid? He had allowed them to escape so he could take those little brats and get them out of here! And he brings them _back_? And now they have the nerve to taunt him? The earlier compassion he had was now lost in the anger filled talons of the shadow as it gripped him more firmly. He growled in frustration as he drug his captive with him to go find the little brat than ran into the back of the room. He found his guards, knocked out on the floor, but no little boy. He looked around just in time to see another guard, the one holding Vicky, go down with a hubcap to the head. He snapped at that point. "Show yourself or I swear to god I will rip her head off!"

His answer was more laughing from behind another pile of boxes. He again drug the woman with him and as he came up the the boxes, then the whole thing fell over on top of him. She used that to roll away from him as far as she could when he lost his hold on her, then made her way onto her feet again then she, too, disappeared in the overfilled room.

Leonardo heard the little girl come back into the room, laughing as he struggled to get out from under all of this crap. He was shaking in anger by the time he dug himself out and was now tearing the room apart trying to find his little tormentors. He was going to find them! And he was going to give them more than just a god damned spanking!

He somehow managed to get his anger under control and turned back to the other captives just in time to see them snap their arms free of their restraints, each holding a kunai the little girl had no doubt managed to slip to them earlier while he was busy room rearranging. "Get them!" He snapped at the guards who thought his shit fit was more interesting than their captives.

That had the predictable results as their weapons fell from above. Now armed, the turtles easily beat the guards and they rapidly began to decorate the floor with them. Leonardo snarled in fury as he rushed the group, his anger now in full control. He met his counterpart's eyes briefly met his eyes, before a sharp, blinding pain erupted in his head. He looked dumbfounded at the printer that hit the floor in front of him after it made contact with his head, dropped from above. Now, wasn't this embarrassing... Then he fell face first onto the floor, out cold.


	10. Chapter 10

**Takes place during chapters 44 - 51 in "Realities Collide".**

Leonardo was furious. He didn't feel the winter cold as he paced this field, knocking anyone in the mouth who couldn't get out of his way fast enough. Again they had made a fool out of him! They had escaped by using children. Children! Beaten by little snotty nosed brats...and a printer! He hadn't even caught a glimpse of the turtle or the damn rabbit! One man made the mistake of walking too close and again Leonardo's fist lashed out, knocking him away.

And to make matters worse, go figure, they had all escaped through the portal to here! They were out there in those woods...somewhere... But he couldn't focus on that now. Spencer had come from home to inform them that the device Donatello had started was complete and they needed this power source over here to power it. The Master had made his instructions very clear, grab it and bring it back. They needed it to power the large portal, that would open into various military bases, at the same time. So far, none of these portals have been able to open more than one doorway, but if they could just get their hands on this power source and figure out a way to duplicate it, enlarge it, the potentials were limitless. Bishop's world would easily fall.

That is what he should be concerned about...not that he had a damn printer dropped on his head! "Where is it?" He finally snapped at Donatello who was calmly scanning nearby.

"It's about 50 feet down."

"How in the hell are we supposed to get to that? I'm not sure the drill Bishop so stupidly provided us will be able to reach it." If it worked as good as his troops, the stupid thing would probably blow up once they turned it on.

"I don't know. You just told me to find it and I did. Getting it out is your problem."

"Your mouth is getting as big as your brain. I'm about ready to do something about it." He snarled at his brother, not in the mood to deal with his mouth right now. He still had a damn headache.

"Go ahead, please do, then you can figure out how to activate the crystal's energy own your own." He calmly answered, not looking up from his work.

"Please the machine is already set up. Your involvement is pretty much over now." Leonardo scoffed.

"Keep thinking that. Do you actually think I would give you all of the information? I'm not that stupid. Master Shredder taught me better than that." He smirked back. "You try and activate the thing without me and it will blow up in your face."

"Well the piece of shit better work, or I will have your damn head." Leonardo glared at him.

"Oh, please. Your insults are childish, of course it will work, I'm not sure if the Master's plan will though. Our counterparts are proving to be more difficult than we thought at first."

"I'm not worried about them." Yeah, he couldn't even believe that though. They beat him with a damn printer! He was very worried about them, but refused to admit that to Donatello. "It's only a matter of time before they slip up. They are trapped here with no way home, with an injured woman and two brats, they are bound to do something drastic here soon. He cares to much about her to think straight."

"You already underestimated him once, even the woman." He chuckled. "Hows the cheek?"

"Shut your god damn mouth before I shut it for you..." Leonardo snarled at him again. Would he ever live that down? Apparently not...

"Still sensitive I see. My point is, they are very resourceful and still could be a threat to the Master's plan."

"I doubt that. Once we have the crystal they will be unable to do anything. We will leave and shut the portal behind us. Let them rot here."

"What's the matter? You don't want to face him again? I thought you would be out there hunting them."

"Oh, I'm not done with him, but the Master made his wishes very clear." If he was only as confident as he sounded right then. He was beginning to wonder if he _could_ defeat this unusual group... "We get the crystal then go. Even I'm not that foolish as to go against his wishes. I'll come back for him, and the tramp, after we help the Master obtain control of the city. Once this portal is open nothing will be able to hold back the army he'll be able to bring through it." Not to mention that the Master wanted him to get rid of the counterparts...he didn't specify on how. Stranding them here would work just as well as killing them off.

"We have a problem." Raphael told them as he jogged closer. "Stupid and I were escorting the drill here and found some of the troops out in the woods not far from here. They had been taken out and stripped. It had to have been them."

Leonardo felt very smug about that, now they knew approximately where they were at. Maybe it could be done after all... He turned back to Donatello. "See, I told you they would slip up. Raphael take about two squads with you and see if you can flush them out. Get your hands on the women and children if you can, they will make sure those fools stay nice and docile."

Raphael just nodded before he rounded up some men. A few minutes later he was leading a decent sized group away from the main cluster out here in the field.

Leonardo watched as his brother and the men following him disappeared into the the woods, a feeling of unease hitting him. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? He looked around, trying to find anything that warranted his feelings, when his eyes found the ditch. I was a plain old crack in the ground with water running along it but it had his inner alarms blaring. His eyes narrowed as he pulled out a katana before slowly advancing on it, then in a sudden rush leapt into it...and found it empty.

His eyes searched for anything that set off these feelings, but found nothing. Until he found a bush growing out of the side of the ditch, with a few small branches that had been recently broken. Very recently he noticed as he rand a careful finger over it. The break spot was still moist. His eyes snapped back in the direction it ran, cursing like hell. They were ninjas, very well trained ones, and could have very well listened in on the earlier conversation without being detected.

He flipped back out of the ditch and grabbed the first man he could get his hands on and pulled him close to him, snarling in his face. "Get two more squads and follow my brother. They may have heard us and are taking steps of their own. Find them before they can! Donatello! With me!" He didn't even give the man time to respond before he took off running, towards the drill that was even now lumbering through the forest.

Even as quick as they were, they weren't quick enough. By the time they caught up to the drill, Michelangelo and the men under his command were already flipping over a felled tree in front of the drill to engage the other Leonardo and that damn rabbit. How he wished some big ass Elmer Fudd would just come and shoot that damn rabbit!

And his idiotic brother didn't see the other Donatello swing into the cab of the drill! Why was he surrounded by incompetent idiots! Why? It wasn't until the drill's driver was knocked noisily out of the cab that his dimwitted brother caught on.

"You couldn't figure out that's what they were after the whole time!" Leonardo roared in frustrated fury as Michelangelo scurried back up the drill.

"That's what happens when you leave Mikey in charge of anything. Your the idiot if you can't figure that out. And your Mikey is even dumber than ours." The blue eyed pain in Leonardo's ass smirked as he easily cleared the men out that were surrounding him and his rabbit sidekick.

Donatello completely ignored the two figures by the downed tree and went right up after their brother. But they were just as quickly knocked back off again as their Raphael came swinging in like some green Tarzan on steroids, knocking both of them off of the drill right as their Donatello came diving back out of it. Leonardo didn't even have time to engage these interlopers before they just turned and ran. Leonardo soon found out why when the whole damn drill exploded, sending him flying back into the forest.

He hit the ground hard from the shockwave, but was back on his feet, seething with rage, just a moment later...but they were already gone. With a roar of fury he took his katana and buried it into the nearest soldier who was struggling to get up, making him go back down, permanently. Then took the head off of another who stood up a few feet away. "Find them!" He roared at the rest of the stunned men. "I want them found and I want them dead!"

They all tripped over themselves as they scrambled to get away from him as fast as they could. Except for the one he grabbed by the back of the shirt before he could run off. "You! You go back to Bishop and tell him to send another drill. I don't care how he does it or where he gets it from but get me another damn drill out here or I will rip you open and leave your damn intestines hanging in the trees to feed whatever passes for buzzards in this damn hell hole!"

He let the man go and he fell over a few times because his legs were shaking so damn hard. It took him about ten tries, and a frustrated throw of a kunai at him that lodged into a tree next to his head, before he got himself under control enough to go deliver the message.

Leonardo was shaking in fury as he watched the man go. His brothers hesitantly approached the enraged turtle as he stood there, fuming. But it was their presence that actually calmed him...somewhat. These failures could not keep happening! If they did not get this power source or eliminate these turtles, it was their lives on the line. If they failed at this, then they failed at living. There was no way any of them could return back home with the news and expect to live the rest of the day. He was furious at these turtles and their meddling ways was putting their own lives in jeopardy! Endangering the lives of his brothers he had sworn his father he would protect!

Stunned he froze at that thought, his eyes wide. He just realized exactly what he had been thinking. He didn't want to do this because his Master wished it from him, like so many other missions. He was doing what he was doing to protect his brothers, who hated him, because of a promise made to his father who had died years ago... When had that long forgotten promise become more important than fulfilling his Master's wishes? When had pleasing the dead, because he knew his father would have frowned upon the deed, make him risk his own life by letting those children live? Why could he kill these heartless men under Bishop's command, but could not slay one woman who stood in his way when he had the chance? Why was he so scared of facing these other turtles now? Was it because he couldn't beat them? Or was it because...they let him see glimpses of a better way? But what troubled him the most was...he knew the answers to all of those questions, and they weren't what his Master had spent years beating into him...


	11. Chapter 11

**Takes place during chapters 44 - 51 in "Realities Collide".**

They stood off to the side as the drill began to burrow it's way down but Leonardo stood apart from his brothers. He had drawn a cocoon of anger around himself that none of them really wanted to disturb, because that would be one pissed off butterfly that came out of it, stinger and all.

He had to get that power source, that crystal. Everything depended on it. The security around this new drill was so tight you couldn't even fly a paper airplane trough it. But that didn't ease the turtle at all. He wouldn't be at ease until he handed that crystal over to his master. To much had gone wrong already and he was quickly learning that the before hand celebrations were not called for here. His double had a bad habit of stopping the music before they could even make it onto the dance floor.

His brothers shared his unease as they kept looking around, fully expecting a last minute interruption as the drill dug in deeper into the ground. Leonardo kept his gaze on the drill, so close...they were so close to getting it and getting the hell out of here. Go back to his own world and his old life. Maybe he could forget that this disaster of a fiasco ever happened. Yeah...and maybe Hun would wear a pink tutu and ballet slippers... He sighed, who was he kidding. Things had been brought back into the forefront of his mind that couldn't be so easily dismissed...he would never be the same again. He just didn't know what those changes held for his future.

"They are breaking through to the cave now." Donatello told him as he checked his readings. The crystal was almost right under them. Soon they would have it, and soon the cycle of death and destruction would begin all over again. Once again they would be used as pawns to secure the Master's plans. Where would it end? When would this insanity stop? Leonardo didn't know, but he wished he did.

"It's moving!" Donatello snapped, finally dragging his brother out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"The damn thing is moving!" Donatello told him again as the drill stopped, having reached the depth they needed.

Leonardo trembled in fury, an emotion that was coming to the surface more and more. Again! They had did it again! Somehow they had found another way to the crystal and snatched it out from under their noses! He didn't even need to have his brother confirm it, it had to be them! "Don't just stand there!" He roared at the men and turtles around him. "Follow it!"

Donatello led the chase and they all followed him as he ran all out across the field. Each running step fueled his burning anger more. Couldn't these fools understand what their interference was going to cost? No...of course they don't understand...how could they? a calmer voice asked. A voice Leonardo shoved away.

He skid to a stop at the edge of the field, but was angry enough he helped the first few over the edge...by personally throwing them over. The rest of them caught on fairly quickly and rapidly moved down the steep slopes themselves, just as a green explosion came bursting out of what Leonardo could now tell was a cave mouth. He watched in awe as his counterpart came out of the cave, already attacking. His arms were burdened with his woman, but his legs lashed out unhindered by her weight as he lashed out with a split lick and followed it up with a roundhouse kick. Even without his arms, the blue masked turtle was accurate, and deadly.

Suddenly, Leonardo didn't want to face him. He could have dropped down to help Bishop's men, but he stood frozen on the edge of the cliff. Unable to go down and face the other turtle, he just watched the events unfold below him as the others came rushing out of the cave.

Eight turtles? Now there were eight of them? Where in the hell did this buch come from! why wasn't he informed about them? He glared at Raphael, obviously he wasn't completely truthful about _who_ exactly got the jump on him earlier. His brother just shrugged at him.

"Quickly, back up the slope!" The rabbit told his comrades. "I doubt their skill is as good as yours to climb it."

"He's right." The smaller blue masked turtle agreed. "We need to go back up."

"Then lets go!" Raphael's counterpart led the way easily back up the slope with the rest right behind him.

Once they began the climb up, Leonardo led his brother's back away from the edge and into the nearby woods. "Eight!" He hissed at Raphael. "There are eight of them now?"

"Yup." Came the unemotional answer.

"Where did those little freaks come from!"

"I dunno." Raphael shrugged.

Leonardo facepalmed.

"I would assume that they came from their own dimension, and also seemed to be allied with our counterparts." Donatello helpfully added, before Leonardo blew his top.

"We can't handle _one_ group! How are we going to get it from _two_!" Leonardo flared.

"I'll deal with it." Michelangelo said quietly. "I'll go in and get the woman. She's injured and shouldn't put up too much of a fight. Maybe we can use her to trade for the crystal." He turned to leave the clearing without another word.

"Are you sure your bumbling ass can handle that?" Raphael snarled at him.

Michelangelo paused a moment, then turned to face his brothers. "If I can't, I fully expect to be killed. I welcome it, because I, for one, am tired of living this way." Then he disappeared into the trees before any of his shocked brothers could respond.

They remained quiet as they waited, each one of them trying to take in what the youngest had so bluntly told them. Had it really come to that point? Had his little brother really lost all hope in everything that he was willing to die, just to escape the pain? A pain Leonardo was starting to face himself more often now. What had happened to the wise cracking, fun loving turtle? He had been lost, like the rest of their innocence, lost to the point where Michelangelo freely welcomed death. He wondered if the other two felt the same way, but couldn't dwell on it anymore as Michelangelo came back, with Vicky. He had her by the arm, knife at her throat and nothing in his eyes. No pain, no fear, remorse...nothing...it was like he was already dead.

"Well it looks like you can do something right after all." Leonardo said, hoping to snap him out of what ever despair was bothering him.

"Please, those idiots were distracted. Grabbing her was almost to easy. I got her without them even knowing." He replied in a dull tone, not even really proud ofthe fact he was able to swipe her from them.

"Bring her, we'll take her with us and set up a trade for the crystal. We can't count on those worthless troops." Leonardo turned to lead them away from here, ready to just end this all and get back. Then he could worry about Mikey... Mikey...his little brother...

"You're actually going to give her back?" Raphael asked, stunned.

"Of course not, you idiot." He absently replied, his mind still on how close he was coming to losing the youngest. He had often wished the little bumbling pain in his ass would just disappear...now concern flooded him as Mikey just listlessly began to follow them. Then the shock hit him that he was putting his little brother's well being first in his thoughts. "Not alive anyway. But they don't know that."

The three turtles leading then all feel forward as something heavy crashed into them. They all ended up a scrambled mess on the ground before they realized that it was their little brother who had crashed into them. Leonardo got to his feet as he looked into the eyes of a furious Leonardo. His blue eyes blazing as he glared at them. Even as he watched Their Mikey came out of his ambush spot even as their Raphael placed Vicky behind them, then they all squarely faced off, placing themselves between the woman and the dark brothers.

"That will be the last time any of you lay a hand on her or any other member of my family." Their Leonardo told them grimly.

Their Raphael spun his weapons and set himself. "It's time for some payback. And I think taking it out of your hide should cover the bill."

"Bring it punks." Their Michelangelo added. No one moved as the tension built in the air. Leonardo didn't want to fight them, was tired of fighting them. Knew that he more than likely couldn't beat them. "Buncha chicken shits." Their youngest popped off suddenly.

Leonardo flared with anger. He was trying to save his brothers! He didn't want to be here anymore than they did! And they had the nerve to taunt them? Without even stopping to think, he let his rage take control and he and his brothers attacked. And quickly found themselves flying over a ducking Vicky and back into the clearing they had just left. Leonardo hit the ground hard next to his brothers and quickly brought his blades up to keep the other set of katanas from cutting him open.

Leonardo was actually scared as he fought off this attack. The other turtle fought with more determination, more resolve. Leonardo then fully understood that he had pushed this turtle to far. He was now viewed as a permanent threat to Vicky, and this Leonardo would now take the necessary steps to take that threat out. He was now in a fight for his life as those blazing blue eyes, eyes that chilled him to the bone, didn't let up their relentless glare. Again and again his katanas came in, with a quiet fury as he pressed the attacks harder. Leonardo had to resort to the shadow. The shadow that had kept him alive so many other times. He was just now beginning to see around that dark monster, and was now forced to be blinded by it again just to stay live.

The shadow had him now as he fought back, a snarl now on his face as he began to press back. His hate clashed with the hate of his counterpart, their blades clashing harder and harder together. Leonardo's blde was blocked and he blocked the other blade that came for him. "Keep trying fool." He taunted the blue masked turtle.

"I will." He calmly replied, not disturbed in the slightest.

Leonardo just narrowed his eyes as they came together again. The shadow now gave him an edge as they fought and he managed, after a few feints and dodges, to take the blue eyed turtle's legs out from under him and twisting one of his blades from his hand, sending it flying off to the side. He pressed his attack as the other Leonardo found himself pinned. Still the other turtle refused to back down, even with one blade and on the ground he more than held his own but Leonardo would not let him back onto his feet and every move his counterpart tried was effectively blocked. The shadow was in full control of the situation, and pushed it even further. "You're out here alone. Let's see you block this one." He gave an evil grin at the pinned turtle and flipped a katana in the air, then his hand moving quickly, he pulled out a kunai and threw it at Vicky who was standing not far away.

"NO!" The prone turtle screamed as he took in what was thrown, his eyes following the kunai as it made it's way toward her, helpless to stop it.

Before it reached it's mark, another katana slapped it out of the air. Leonardo's eyes widened as he took in the new arrival. He was smaller, but his brown eyes were flaring with anger as he stopped to pick up the dropped katana. "No, he is not alone." He tossed the katana to it's owner who had used the distraction to roll back to his feet. "You have a lot to answer for."

Leonardo now faced two angry turtles as they both stalked in on him. Vicky's lover actually snarled a little as he moved in. "All the pain and suffering you have caused her, tonight you will regret it."

Leonardo just snarled in return as he readied his blades. The shadow wanted, demanded, their blood to be spilled. Again blades clashed in the night as they came together. The sounds he heard behind him clued him into the fact that his brother's faced the same odds now.

He didn't concern himself with what was happening behind him, all of his attention was focused on those two turtles who stood in front of him now, their katanas weaving around each other as if they had been training together for years. He was finding it hard to keep both of them at bay, much less win this fight. Even his shadow clouded mind knew that he was going to lose this fight. Stubbornly he kept at it however. It was then that he realized that his little brother wasn't the only one who wanted out. He wanted to die, he was tired of this life, the shadow, the nightmares. He was tired of all of it. His brothers were now still, he couldn't hear them anymore and he hoped that death had already found them. He kept pushing on, wanting them to end a life that had no meaning to him anymore. He ignored all of the cuts they were raining down on him and pushed them even more.

The smaller turtle blocked his blade, up high, even as the larger turtle, the blue eyed twin who's eyes showed no mercy, brought his own blade up from below. Pain shot through Leonardo's left arm as the blue eyed Leonardo took his hand off at the wrist. His pain and shadow raged filled scream rang out into the night before there was another pain in his head and he saw stars before he saw nothing else. He briefly met Vicky's eyes before the darkness clouded his vision. Now, now he finally understood what he fought for. Now he understood why he always seemed to win. He fought so hard for her because he loved her. Leonardo could not compete with that.

He collapsed to the ground, rapidly fading out now. Love...he knew what that was once...had felt it before...Father...

.

.

It was the feeling of a foot nudging him that roused him from his black slumber. He weakly opened his eyes, wanting nothing more than to just lay there and die. It was what he deserved...

"Such a shame." Bishop mumbled as he nonchalantly picked up the severed hand as Leonardo watched, to weak to even be disgusted. "I had hoped that you would be able to rid me of those meddlesome reptiles, but they seem to be beyond even your skills." He dropped the hand in a large plastic bag and sealed it. "Still, you are still of use to me. I have something planned for them, and you are going to help me with it. If you like it or not."

Again chills flowed down his spine as he was hoisted up, along with his brothers. His ordeal wasn't over yet it seemed, he would live... But was this life even worth living...


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: I'm sure most of you have noticed that this story is paralleling my Realities series, so those of you who have read those stories know that my turtles are based off of the 2014 movie turtles and know who the smaller turtles are that was mentioned in the previous chapter. Those of you who haven't read them, they are the turtles from the 90's movieverse who had been brought in to help once before. Then they came to help again for this whole Usagi world fiasco. If you want more info on them, you're going to have to read the story "Realities Collide".**

 _"Hey! did you see that?" Nine year old Mikey asked ecstatically. "I finally did it! I did a split kick!" His face light up, bright as the sun on a sunny day._

 _Leo smiled at him. His little brother had been trying for weeks to get it right and with Leo helping out he finally managed to get it._

 _"'Bout time." Raph grumbled as he crossed his arms. "Was starting to think butt head wouldn't get it."_

 _"It's a hard move Raphie." Mikey complained._

 _"Not for all of us." Raph rolled his eyes._

 _"Each of you learn at different speeds Raphael." Father gently told his son. "What seems so easy for you to do may very well indeed be difficult for your brothers."_

 _"Stuck up over there doesn't seem to have any problems with_ his _lessons." Raph's thumb jerked towards Leo._

 _"Maybe that's because I actually pay attention to them instead of trying to beat the snot out of Mikey all the time." Leo shot back, his anger flaring quickly. Even back then they had to work hard to control these bursts of anger that were common in all of them._

 _"That might be a good reason on why Leo is so good, yes." Donnie agreed with a grin. "He does put in a lot more effort than we do."_

 _"Brown noser." Raph grumbled again._

 _"Hot head." Leo snorted back._

 _"Goody two shoes."_

 _"Big bully."_

 _"Teacher's pet."_

 _"Ninja dropout."_

 _"That's it!" Raph snarled finally as he tackled Leo. "I've about had it with your 'better than me' attitude!"_

 _Leo found himself buried under his bigger brother as they hit the floor. Then they began rolling across the dojo, pummeling each other with their fists._

 _"That is_ enough _!" Father snapped as he moved in to_ _separate them. "I will not tolerate this behaviour!" His sharp tone easily cut through the shadow before it could drive them further into a rage and they both blinked a moment, then backed off from each other. "My sons, you can not give into your anger." He quietly told them._

 _"I can't help it Sensai!" Raph flared again. "He makes me so...so...so...mad!"_

 _"Oh like you don't get the rest of us mad?" Donnie rolled his eyes. "There are days when we want to knock your teeth in."_

 _"More like everyday." Mikey muttered._

 _Father just sighed and shook his head. "Sit down, my sons. All of you." He looked pointedly at Raph who was already looking for a way out of this. Finally the hot head just sighed and joined the others crosslegged onto the floor. Father just took his time, looking them over one by one before he spoke again. "I sense in all of you something I can not explain. It reaches to you, fuels your anger." Leo just looked wide eyed at him, Father knew about the shadow? But... how? How would he know about something Leo never spoke of before? From the shocked look his brothers also gave, they apparently were dealing with the same issue. "I do not wish to see you consumed by it." Father continued quietly. "You all have such strength, such potential to do good and it will lead you down a path of madness and despair if you let it. Be stronger than it, fight it."_

 _"But how?" Donnie asked him, his voice scared. "It frightens me Father..."_

 _"Find something within yourself that is stronger." He replied before he looked at all of them again. "I, too, have fought against it, I still do. I can only assume it comes from the substance that turned us into what we are now, but not even I know for sure. I have found my strength, now you must find yours."_

 _Leo nodded thoughtfully as he took in those words, even as his brothers looked at each other confused. "I...I think I understand Father."_

 _Splinter just smiled. "If you do, then you will prevail until a solution presents itself to permanently deal with this issue."_

 _"I don't get it." Mikey muttered._

 _"There's a big surprise." Raph rolled his eyes._

 _"Do you get it?" Mikey countered._

 _"No..." Raph admitted after a moment._

 _"Then why give me such a hard time about it?"_

 _"Because it's fun." Raph grinned at him and they all had a chuckle over that._

 _"Glad I can amuse you." Mikey grinned back._

 _Suddenly the wall exploded inward and the four little turtles found themselves flung across the room. Leo struggled, coughing, to orientate himself in the now dust filled room. He looked around to see his brothers in the same disoriented state he found himself in. What had just happened? He got unsteadily to his feet even as the sounds of fighting filled the dojo. Where was Father?_

 _That question was answered a moment later when a black clad man flew past him and crashed into the wall behind him. Leo looked at him stupidly a moment before his Father's voice rang out. "Flee my sons! Leave this place!"_

 _"Father!" Donnie called out, trying to find his glasses he had lost when he fell._

 _"Leave!" Was the returning roar as another body flew across the dojo._

 _Raph quickly made it to Donnie's side, found his glasses for him, and pulled him to his feet as Leo and Mikey joined them. Now very scared and confused they ran to the entrance of the dojo, torn between leaving their Sensei and the need to get out of the danger they all understood was now all around them. Leo pushed his brothers ahead of him through the door, looking over his shoulder, hoping his Father would be following right behind them. That hope was quickly dashed as he saw the men that still surrounded the furiously fighting rat._

 _Mikey's terror filled scream shot through the room next and Leo shot his gaze back to see his little brother dangling in the hand of another man, a very large one. Leo's eyes widened in fear as he took him in. He was covered in armour and blades protruded from his handguards. Smaller blades adorned his arm guards but it was those long hand ones that held his attention, because he had them pressed to Mikey's throat._

 _Father heard his son's cry and managed to push his way through the men surrounding him, to land next to his other three children as he glared up at the man with hate._

 _"Foolish rat." Came a deep, menacing voice. "Did you really believe you could hide from me forever? That I would not find you?"_

 _Leo was so scared, so confused... Who was this man? Why did he want to hurt them?_

 _"Taking that chance was better than staying under your servitude!" Father snapped back. "You may have had a hand in creating us, but that does not mean I will follow you blindly for it."_

 _"You have no choice in the matter." Came the darkly amused voice back to him. "You are all mine. I made you and you will serve me!"_

 _"I will not!"_

 _"Then the turtle dies, unless you surrender to me."_

 _Father narrowed his eyes. Leo knew that not even Father stood a chance to save Mikey before those blades sliced his throat open. "Leonardo."_

 _"Yes father?" He whispered, fear not letting his voice come out any louder._

 _"Promise me something my son."_

 _"What Father?"_

 _"You will not forget our earlier conversation, and you will always look out for your brothers. They will need you."_

 _"Father...I don't understand..."_

 _"You will in time."_

 _He looked at his Father and back to the man who held his brother, tears springing to his eyes. It was then he knew what would happen, just as Father already did. "I promise Father."_

 _He just nodded, then dropped his walking stick he had been using to fight with. He now stood before his enemy, unarmed. Leo could see the malicious gleam in the man's eyes, then, still holding Mikey as a shield, he rammed those hand blades into Splinter's throat._

 _The turtles screamed out their pain and grief as their Father fell. Leo was next to him, trying to stem the flow of blood coming from that massive wound. Splinter just looked at him calmly as his life ebbed away. "I bought you some time..." He choked out around his own blood. "I'm sorry I could not do more. Never...never forget...who...you...really are..."_

 _Leo's scream of anguish filled the room as his Father slipped from the world of the living. He took up the walking stick and began to beat that armored leg with it. The shadow edging him on, taking satisfaction from his rage fuel, but still pitiful attacks._

 _"Insolent child." The man snarled as he hit Leo and sent him flying back. "You will show your new Master more respect, or you will all die." He then shoved Mikey into the hands of his waiting men. "Bring them. The rat was of no use to me, but these turtles may very well be bendable to my will."_

 _Leo was drug from the dojo, right past his now still Father. "Father!...Please no! FATHER!..._

"Father!" Leonardo cried out into the room as he woke up with a start. He jerked against the restraints holding him down, fighting against them in grief and anger as he fought for control of himself again. Trembling he collapsed against the table he had been strapped to since Bishop had brought him here. Tears filled his eyes as he remembered the dream. A dream he hadn't had in a very long time, but one that always tore him apart when he did have it. That dream had quit bothering him when the shadow took control, but it had come back with a vengeance it seemed.

Once he had finally calmed down he realized that he was thinking clearly, for the first time in he didn't know how long. Bishop had kept him sedated, probably because he knew how dangerous he could be if he were fully functional. He briefly remembered flashes of pain as his hand was reattached, Bishop seemingly taking enjoyment out of his pain as he dealt with that task. He also vaguely remembered being injected with a green substance. "Let's see if this mutagen will bind the hand back to him." Bishop had murmured quietly to someone. "Then we know that it will be accepted into his system and we can move on with the serum."

"Why even bother with this step?" Came from someone else, a female.

"Because Marina, we have nothing on them. No DNA of any kind to use. All I have are these small samples of mutagen. If his body will accept it, then we can use his blood. If you can't track the DNA, then maybe you'll be able to track the mutagen."

"Will that work?"

"We will see. I'm hoping their DNA will be close enough to the original turtles to where it will. Injecting the mutagen is just a secondary precaution. Once everything has bonded, we'll start on the serum."

How long ago was that now? He didn't know. Days, weeks, months? He knew he had to be fed through IV's because he was out of it so much. How long had he been lying here...

Suddenly the door burst open as some of Bishop's men entered. "He wants them all moved. Apparently there are some bad reactions to the serum he gave them." One said, noticing that the turtle on the table was awake, then promptly drugged him again. Completely ignoring Leonardo's weak struggles to get free. "One of the others, the big one, is really having a bad reaction and Bishop thinks the others won't be far behind."

"Where are they being moved to?" Another asked as he began to prep the equipment for transport. Leonardo snarled at this one too, but again he was ignored, treated like the test subject he now was.

"A base about fifty miles out of town. It's isolated enough to where they won't cause too much trouble out there if they get loose. Though suitable containment units are already in place for them."

They? Leonardo struggled to focus through the drugs coursing through his system. His brothers were still alive? Why... Suddenly he felt a fit of rage take over. They were alive and also in the clutches of this bastard! He had to get to them...had too... In a burst of strength, he pulled against his restraints again. He almost managed to free an arm before one of the men just rolled his eyes and upped the dose on his sedative. In his weak state, he couldn't fight back any more and once again found himself in a haze induced slumber. Compared to the last dream he had, those accusing blue eyes he found this time was a welcome relief. But even they weren't the same. No longer were they alone, another set of blue eyes watched now from the distance.

Somehow the second set held hope for the troubled turtle. Those eyes stood for something he wanted to be, and he held onto that image, still hoping deep down that he would find his way back there. He just didn't know how. _'Remember who you are...'_ Came his Father's voice again as both sets of eyes disappeared. He was trying...he was... "Someone help me..." His broken voice whispered out, unheard by the men who were still prepping him for transport.


	13. Chapter 13

**Takes place during Chapters 27 - 35 in "New Realities"**

He hung there listless. Everything he had lived for was being taken away from him. His honor was gone, if he ever had any, as was his self respect, any loyalty he may have still had for his Master was also gone after being left here to rot, his Father...and now he was losing his brothers. They were in the containment tubes next to him, but they were all now so far gone they didn't even recognize him any more. Leonardo gave up, had given up. He couldn't save them from this, was forced to watch as they turned from the brothers he knew to the mindless beasts he saw now. Nothing of who they once were remained, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

Death would have been so much more preferable to this life. Locked up in cages for Bishop to use as he pleased. He didn't really know or understand what Bishop had done to them all, or how he was able to fight off his own transformation off for so long. And he knew he would turn into the same unthinking beast his brothers did. Even now his body was changing, the pain from it coming more and more often now.

His brothers had screamed through their transformations, and he had to helplessly watch as those screams tore him apart. He had fought his restraints, tears streaming down his face as each one of them took his turn through the pain. And he couldn't do anything...

He hung there, alone. No company besides the shells of what his brothers had once been. His largest failure filling the rooms now with their unintelligent snarls and growls. He had failed his brothers, failed his Father...failed himself. He supposed this was a fitting end to his life. After everything he did, a painful ending could be considered a fair punishment. He closed his eyes as a spasm of pain shot through his side, fighting back against the shadow that suddenly seemed to want more from him. Not just fuel his anger, but to consume him entirely until nothing was left. Like it had done with his brothers. Whatever Bishop had injected in them was reacting violently inside of him, joining the shadow, making it even stronger.

What was the point of fighting back though? He couldn't do anything. He was strapped in this cage. If he struggled too hard they would just turn the sedative gas on that was attached to the tank above his containment tube. He might as well just give up. The months of confinement had made him weak and ate at his fighting spirit until he just hung there, like he was now.

He idly wondered if his brothers felt anything at all right now, besides the basic instincts he saw in them. The primal rage and frustration as they every once in awhile lashed out, trying to free themselves. He wondered if they were still there, locked into those monstrous bodies they had turned into. He wondered a lot of thing now. Like if the Master even cared if they were alive or not. As far as he knew, there hadn't even been an iquery made over the long disappearance. But then again, he only had Bishop's smug words to go by.

To say he was at his lowest point now was an understatement. There was no hope for him. There was no one who would come looking for them and release them from this torment. No one who actually gave a damn. He sighed as he again looked at his brothers. What would it take to just end it all? He didn't know anymore...

"ACHOO!"

His head snapped back up. What the hell? Was that...a fucking _sneeze_? He looked around trying to find the source of that noise, but the room was still empty. He was still trying to figure out this curious puzzle, when the ceiling collapsed in front of him and it started raining bodies.

He just stared, stupefied, at the wriggling mass of turtles and humans and that had just graced him with their presence.

"We weren't near any god damn trees and I still fall the fuck down!" Vicky snapped before she looked at their Michelangelo. "And it's your damn fault!"

"That's it, remind me never to ride in an airplane with you asswipes." Her friend, the same one from Stockman's lab, muttered as they all untangled and got up with quite a lot of groaning. "There a 99% chance that mother fucker is going to crash with you morons in it."

"Well that was entertaining." Leonardo told them, actually a bit amused at the spectacle before him. "I don't see why I tried to eradicate you. It seems like you're doing a good enough job on your own." He shook his head in disbelief. "I'm surprised you haven't killed yourselves by now."

"Glad we could amuse you." Their Raphael growled back.

"You looked kinda bored in there, you should be thanking us for brightening your day." Came from Michelangelo.

"I thought he looked constipated myself." Vicky's friend deadpanned. "You think maybe Bishop put in a butt plug that needs to come out?"

"Eeew." Vicky mumbled.

"Amusing." Leonardo mumbled rolling his eyes at them. He was going to say more, but another spasm of pain hit him.

He fought back the pain again and noticed a blonde push her way past the others and stop in front of him. She looked with sadness at the other three cages that held his brothers before turning to Leonardo again. "Surely you know by now what's happening to you and your brothers."

"And what concern is it to you?" He growled at her as he still fought back the pain. "Surely you are enjoying this."

"I don't enjoy watching others suffer." She told him. "No one deserves to suffer like this."

Vicky let out a snort of disagreement to that statement.

Leonardo turned his head towards her, the shadow fully enjoying the fear he saw in her, reliving the memory of having her pinned against the tree with his finger inside of her. "Did you miss our time together as much as I did? I assume so since you risked your life to break into a high security facility just to see me. I'm flattered. You must have really enjoyed it, I know I did." He gave her a knowing grin before he firmly pushed the shadow away. No! He didn't _want_ this anymore!

It was the sound of a fist slamming into his cage wall that brought his attention back to those in front of him, and he met the snarling face of his counterpart. " _Silence_! That's _enough_!" He growled. "Do not make me regret coming here to save your worthless ass." He slammed his fist against the wall again.

"Right." Leonardo scoffed at his counterpart. "You really expect me to believe that you came here to help us?"

For a moment they just exchanged hate filled glares as the blonde made her way cautiously back up to the cell. "That's one brave chick." The man with them muttered. Not this hockey mask wearing idiot again... "I wouldn't go between them right now."

"Shut up, Casey." Raphael snapped.

"Excuse me," She interrupted their staring contest "but that's exactly why we are here."

He snapped his gaze to her. "Why in the hell would you want to help us? We certainly wouldn't help you." Not that they would ever _want_ his help.

"Do you see what your brothers are going through?" She asked him frustrated. "It's only going to get worse." She studied him for a moment and he saw something in her eyes, compassion... "Bishop injected you with something didn't he?" He narrowed his eyes at her but remained silent. He didn't trust her. "It made you stronger, faster and maybe you have noticed more aggression in your brothers before that happened." She waved her hand towards the others. He just stared at her, he had indeed noticed that before...they changed. Bishop had a hard time containing them over the last few weeks. How did she know?

"Listen to her." His twin told the trapped turtle in a quiet tone. "She's telling you the truth and we don't have a lot of time."

"Why? Why is time so important?" His untrusting eyes snapped back to him

"You mean besides the fact that at anytime this whole fucking base could come storming in here?" Raphael asked him.

"Raph, knock it off." Blue boy told him without turning.

"I can explain it all to you but that would take more time than we have." Caitlin told Leonardo, ignoring the banter between the other two. "That mutagen Bishop gave you is going to kill you."

"You didn't answer my question. Why do you care?" He almost snarled at her. The look of compassion in her eyes hitting him hard. He didn't need her damn compassion!

Their Leonardo narrowed his eyes. "Who said said we cared about you? You could rot in fucking hell for all I care but Caitlin needs you in order to save our Donnie. In return she will save your worthless hides." What? One of theirs was also...not himself? He was just now noticing that he indeed was missing from this lineup.

"And what makes you think I should trust you?" He spat. After everything they had been through against each other, this one would more than likely run a katana through Leonardo the first chance he got...but if that were the case...why was he still alive now? He should have died out in that field. Would he suspend that hate to save his brother?

"Trusting Bishop didn't turn turn out to well did it?" He took deep breath. "I give you my word that if this is agreed to, we will send you all home. We are to much alike for you to not feel something for your brothers. I'm giving you the chance to save them. Or we can just let you all die here like lab rats and let Bishop pick over your carcass after you're dead."

That remark stung Leonardo as he once again looked at his mindless brothers. He had so badly wanted to help them, to end this for them...now...he might have a chance to do just that... If this woman, Caitlin, could pull this off. ANd it seemed that they were just as desperate to save their brother. He turned his hard gaze back to Caitlin. "Swear to me now you can help us." He told her, desperately needing something to give him hope. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you can save us."

Caitlin did just that, looking him dead in the eye. "I swear to you, I can save you and your brothers." His breathing picked up slightly as he sensed her confidence, and sincerity. Hope...she was giving him hope... She was giving him back something he had thought he had lost...

But what about the others. Would they hold their word? Could he trust them? He turned to their Leonardo. "And what about you? Your honor mean as much to you as you say it does?"

He was quiet as he looked back at him, then looked Vicky. She was scared, Leonardo could clearly see it on her face, but she nodded and he turned back to Leonardo. "It does. Under the condition you harm no one and you go back to your dimension as soon as you all are able too."

Again their eyes met and held for a moment. Could he take this step? Could he trust them with his brothers? Something told him that he could, he read it in those blue eyes. As long as he wouldn't bring harm to anyone, they would help him. He could agree to that, he had too... "Then I believe we have a deal. Get us out of here."

"Get his cage open but hold off on the others until we can find a way to sedate them." Their Leonardo told Caitlin.

"Yeah, we don't need them rampaging around." Michelangelo added as she moved to a nearby control panel.

A moment later the cage opened and their Leonardo stepped in to release the restraints. Leonardo stumbled for a moment once freed, his limbs not wanting to work right after being bound for so, so long. As he did, steadying hands reached out for him to keep him from falling. He slapped at those hands in a fit of rage. He didn't need his damn help! It was that rage that gave him the strength to stand and he firmly stepped out of the cage.

Leonardo did notice Vicky inch closer towards Raphael and Michelangelo, and they sensed her fear and placed themselves between him and her. That stung Leonardo more than he cared to admit. What this woman must have had to fight in herself to be able to come out here, to get him and ask for his help...he wasn't so sure he could be able to do that if he had been in her shoes. And he was the reason for her fear. He couldn't look at her anymore and forced himself to turn away.

"Um, guys? How are we going to get them home?" The man, Casey, asked.

"Fuck getting them home. How in the hell are we going to get them out of here?" Michelangelo piped in.

"I'm sure if we are quiet and careful," Their Leonardo glared around the room at all of them "I'm sure we can steal some kind of transportation. Any objections?"

Before anyone could answer him the doors opened and troops flooded in. "Well isn't this fucking fantastic." Raphael said as his weapons came out.

"And there goes the nice and quiet escape plan." Their Leonardo sighed as he went into action.

"Now can we blow a hole in the wall?" Vicky's friend asked. That idea actually appealed to Leonardo as well as he looked over the rapidly filling room with a sigh.

"How about you take cover before they blow a hole in your dumb ass!" Vicky told her as she dodged behind the control panel with Michelangelo and Caitlin.

"Like that's a great hiding place." She replied. "You know some dumb mother fucker is going to-" Before she could finish, some dumb mother fucker shot the control panel.

"Oh fuck." Vicky mumbled as the other three cages opened.

"I told you so!" Her friend yelled as Leonardo's brothers somehow managed to snap their restraints and came charging out into the clusterfuck that was rapidly evolving.

"Ooops." Came Vicky's quiet comment from behind the control panel. Leonardo wanted to scream with frustration at that point...he was saddled with a bunch of idiots...


	14. Chapter 14

**Takes place during Chapters 27 - 35 in "New Realities"**

"We have to get out of here!" Raphael shouted from somewhere in the room. Leonardo rolled his eyes. No shit...

"Not without them!" Came their Leonardo's reply. "Caitlin! Is there someway to sedate them? There has to be something here. Bishop is to prepared for situations like this for there not to be."

Her sigh of frustration rang out loudly in the room over the sounds of fighting. "I wouldn't even know where to look!" She shouted back to him.

Vicky's friend dodged behind the control panel as more gunfire hit it. From somewhere outside there was another strange sound, like something large powering down.

"Bishop, we have to think like Bishop." Vicky's friend told them. "Where would he keep it?"

"Obviously not here." Vicky replied, frantically looking around. "There is nothing here!" Leonardo could tell she was getting about as frustrated as he was over this mess.

"Warning, cooling system failed. Vehicle holding chamber no longer secure" Was blaring over the speaker system by the point he got frustrated enough to take the matters into his own hands. He avoided his brothers and Bishop's troops and made a beeline to the woman who had recently joined Vicky, Caitlin and Michelangelo behind the now ruined control panel. She had something in her belt that he needed.

He flipped over the control panel and landed in a crouch in the middle of the group, trying real hard to ignore Vicky's fright filled mewling as Michelangelo pulled her away from his reach. He closed his eyes briefly at the sounds, just for a moment wondering how many of his other victims would react the same way, if they had lived... Then his frustration kicked in again. "You are pathetically incompetent." He growled at them before turning to Vicky's friend. "Give me four of your kunai."

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

He growled in frustration, but held back the desire to snatch the damn things from her. "The sedatives are in tanks above the damn cells. I don't have any weapons and you don't have the strength. Give me the damn kunai!" Honestly, he didn't know if he even had the strength right now to do it, not having been able to move much for so long. He pushed that thought away, he didn't have a choice, his brothers needed him to function and so he would.

"Can't Mikey do it?" She stubbornly said.

That thought freaked Vicky out and she almost panicked as she gripped Michelangelo's arm. Obviously not wanting to be left alone with him. "Cris, give him the kunai." Michelangelo told her calmly.

"If he stabs me with it I'm going to hurt you." She mumbled and handed them over.

"I'm flattered by your trust in me." He growled and flipped back over the console. Idiots... "Get your bumbling rescue squad out of here!" He called to Blue Boy. "The sedatives are in tanks above the cells and with the control panel down I'm going to have to cut them open to flood the room with the gas."

"You heard him! Move!" He snapped at his friends.

They all began the mad dash to the door as Leonardo himself fought to get to the containment tubes. Casey along with the fourth female that he hadn't been politely introduced to yet were already covering the door. Leonardo tried the best he could to stall, trying to give them all enough time to get out before releasing the gas. But he was beginning to become hard pressed in doing so.

He didn't catch on to what happened behind him until he heard something that chilled his blood to the bone.

"NO!" Raphael screamed from behind him, his voice full of anguish. Leonardo turned just in time to see Cris fall to the floor, with a sai in her chest and Raphael letting his grief out towards Leonardo's transformed brother.

"No..." Leonardo whispered as he took in what happened at a glance. His own brother had stabbed the girl who was lying very still on the floor before Michelangelo scooped her up and ran towards the exit with her. "No..." Once again he and his brothers caused grief to those who really didn't deserve it...

"Come on!" Casey yelled from where he was covering the door with the black haired woman. The urgency in his voice snapped Leonardo out of his own stupor and rage took over. He cleared the last remaining men out and concentrated on the tanks. He leapt and spun in the air, sending a kunai slamming into each tank above the four cells. Immediately there was a hissing sound as the pressurized tanks released their white smokey substance. Then he joined their Leonardo and Raphael as the two still struggled with his mutated brother. "No more time! We have to go now!"

"I'm going to kill him..." Raphael growled as he sent in a rage filled punch. "I'm going to fucking kill him." Leonardo actually felt his heart drop in his chest, he obviously cared for the hurt woman very much... What had they done...

"Raph, we have to go." Their Leonardo told him.

"He killed her!" Raph screamed at him. "I'm not going anywhere until this sorry piece of shit is dead at my feet!"

"Don't be an idiot." Leonardo growled, hoping to snap him out of his rage before they all ended up knocked out on the floor from the gas that was filling the room. "We need to go."

Raphael spun on him in an indescribable rage and lashed out at him but his brother blocked the blow, wincing in pain as he did. Then they both ducked as Leonardo's brother took a swing at both of them. "Raph please. We need to go!"

"Fuck you!"

"Raph! She's not dead but if we don't get out of here she will be!" Michelangelo's voice cracked through the room then.

That snapped him out of it. With a low growl he kicked out and connected and used the power from the kick to push him away from the monster turtle. Leonardo and his twin also disengaged and followed him to the door as the white smoke filled the room. His other two mutated brothers were already stumbling from the effects of the gas and they stopped attacking the now fleeing troops as they struggled to stay on their feet.

Once they all barreled out of the room, Leonardo helped Raphael and his brother hold the door shut as Michelangelo and the others ran towards an ambulance they had spotted. Sure...run off and leave them here to hold off three double mutated brothers by trying to hold a damn door shut! Leonardo just growled and pushed against it harder. It took a little bit, but silence finally consumed the room beyond as the gas did it's work.

"Where are the others?" Raphael asked and Leonardo pointed towards the clear walled chamber that held the ambulance in it, along with a yellow muscle car and a large black pick-up truck. Why on earth would Bishop want _those_ things for? He didn't have time to dwell on the issue as they now raced across the warehouse. Following the trail of knocked out bodies lying across the floor.

They reached the door they had entered in and looked around frantically for the others. "Mikey! Where are you!" Blue Boy called into the room. A room that was substantially colder than the rest of the warehouse and had what looked like rapidly melting ice all over the place. What was Bishop doing in here? Making vehicle ice pops?

"Over here!" Came the reply call from the other end. "I could use a little help! They got these funny freeze ray things!" Freeze ray things? Leonardo rolled his eyes, this turtle had serious issues...but oddly enough, he smiled. His own little brother used to be that way. He...missed it...

The three turtles quickly ran across the room, by passing Vicky, Caitlin and the other one as they worked on Cris who was lying in the bed of the pick-up. Casey came to join them after a few murmured words from the blonde.

They joined Michelangelo in another few heartbeats and Leonardo had to blink away his astonishment. They _did_ have have funny freeze ray thingies...huh...

Leonardo however found himself at a slight disadvantage here. He didn't have the convenience of a weapon like his comrades did. He only had his hands, and they really weren't ideal. Not in his present condition anyway. He took out one iceberg troopers and spun around to find a nozzle of one of those freeze ray thingies aimed right at his head...how delightful.

He just snarled and was about ready to dodge the blast he knew he didn't have a chance of dodging, when a katana came down and sliced the thing in half. The soldier looked at his weapon, stunned a moment before the whole thing blew up in his face.

He chuckled at the man's shocked, frozen, expression before he watched him tumble backwards.

The katana came back into his view, this time hilt first as his counterpart held it out. "Take it." He quietly told Leonardo.

He couldn't hide the shock on his face as he met those blue eyes. He was trusting him with a weapon? He hesitantly reached out for it, almost expecting it to be yanked back out of his reach again at the last moment like some sick prank. But it didn't. Leonardo took the hilt of the offered weapon and it fit comfortably in his hand. Blue eyes watched him as he looked at it, something he couldn't describe taking over as he returned that gaze. Gratitude?

He didn't have time to dwell on it as they both exploded into motion again because neither one of them really wanted to be turned into snow turtles. Now armed, even if it was only with one katana, he had a much easier time dispatching the pain in the ass snow cone makers.

It didn't take them long to finish off this group and Leonardo had to quietly admire how well this rag tag bunch seemed to work together. Even with the human, Casey. They all had an understanding, a connection that years of fighting alongside of each other had engrained deeply in all of them. This was also something he never experienced with his pwn brothers and he wondered again how much had been robbed from them. What could they have been, could have accomplished if their life had taken a different path...

He shook himself out of those thoughts as he followed behind the others to rejoin the women, only to find Cris was now being carried by a stranger towards the ambulance with Caitlin walking next to them

"Who the fuck are you and where in the hell are you taking her?" Raphael snarled as he and the others came around the ambulance, his amber eyes flashing. The man just walked around him and slipped into the open door of the vehicle, Caitlin right behind. "I'm fucking talking to you!" Raphael snapped and was about to storm in after him, until the door shut behind them. Raphael tried the handle, and found it locked. "Open this damn door!"

"What's going on?" Blue boy asked Vicky as he walked over to her.

"I found someone who can help Cris, I hope."

"How bad is she?"

"Pretty bad Leo. I'm scared." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Leonardo watched them. Fighting more feelings he couldn't fully understand. This turtle cared for her, that was very obvious. He had found something she gave freely back to him. She wasn't afraid of him, didn't fear him. He didn't have to force his affections on her. He had something Leonardo could only dream of, something he didn't deserve. Not after everything he had done. But still... he found himself wishing... Leonardo noticed her watching him then and quickly turned his head away, not wanting her to see the sudden pang of loneliness he now felt. He had no one. Not even his brothers and he was surprised on how much that actually stung him.

Raphael was still banging on the locked door, screaming and hollering to be let in. Then it did open, opened so fast it slammed into him and knocked him quite a ways back before it slammed back shut. There was a moment of stunned silence before Raph got up with a rage filled growl and stormed right back up to it again. Once again his pounding and banging filled the air. Leonardo watched it all with an eyeridge raised in amusement. He was a stubborn one, wasn't he?

"Will you cease with that annoying racket?" Snapped another voice, this time coming from the black pickup.

"Fuck off asshole before I knock your damn teeth in." Raphael said then resumed his efforts to get into the ambulance.

"Raph, calm down bro." Michelangelo tried to calm him. "Caitlin is in there too. She's not alone."

"Don't start with me Mikey!" Raphael gave up on punching and figured kicking it might work.

Leonardo however wasn't really paying attention anymore as his eyes wandered the room, trying to find the source of the new voice and his eyes zeroed in on the black pickup. There had to be someone in there...

"I told you to cease! Are your audio receivers malfunctioning?" Came that same voice again, sounding pissed this time.

Raphael stormed up to the driver's door and kicked it. "And I told you to fuck off!"

Leonardo then had the unpleasant sensation of trying to divide his attention everywhere at once. Blue Boy tried to calm his brother, Michelangelo shouted a warning of more men approaching and the yellow muscle car suddenly spun around to shield them all from the incoming gunfire. But what his dark eyes finally settled on, and widened in shock, was the black pickup that seemed to come apart before those pieces, whirling, twisting and clicking reconnected into a very large, very pissed off looking robot with very large guns popping out of it's arms. Now wasn't this just great he sighed as he looked up at the twenty plus foot robot...he was reeeeally hoping it was on their side.


	15. Chapter 15

**Takes place during Chapters 27 - 35 in "New Realities"**

"Leo!" Raphael screamed, "That car just turned into a giant fucking crazy robot!" as he quickly back peddled out of the way.

"A giant fucking crazy robot with big ass guns!" Michelangelo screamed back. "You had to go piss off the damn crazy robot with guns!"

They all just stared, in dumbstruck amazement, at the large thing as it raised a weapon to fire. For a moment it looked like he was going to blast Raphael to little bitty porcelain shell pieces before the shot went over all of their head to the tanks rolling in from the wide doors behind them. Tanks...yay... This was so much fun. Then the big thing ducked and rolled right through the clear, plastic looking wall as a beam of what looked like ice shot out of another tank and hit the wall behind where the giant robot had stood just moments before.

"Well this is a fine mess we are in." Leonardo snapped as he went scrambling for cover when the robot hit the ground, making standing very difficult at the moment anyway. "I was safer in the _damn cell_!"

"It's ok!" Vicky shouted over the commotion. "They won't hurt us!" Was she fucking crazy? It sure as hell didn't look like it was happy to see them...

"Speak for yourself fleshling." The robot snapped as he fired another round of shots.

"Vicky, dear, an explanation would be nice right about now!" A wild eyed, blue masked Leonardo told her as he pulled her out of the way of flying debris.

"No time!" She replied. "Just trust me. They are the good guys. I can't explain it right now, but they are."

Suddenly the song "Why can't we be friends." blared from the Camaro's speakers as it transformed and another robot stood over them. Then he turned towards the troops and unleashed his own blasts at the tanks coming in. Leonardo could just stare out at the craziness that seemed to suddenly surround him. This world was nuts!

"When a muscle car offers to help you, you accept." Casey grinned. He looked up at the yellow robot. "Hey big guy! Can I get a hand?"

It's face brightened and he nodded quickly, eager to work with them, and picked Casey up, accompanied with his own ear grating theme song and threw him at the troops coming closer. "GOONGALA" came from the man as he flew. Goongala? what the hell did he think this was? A dancing ball for fucked up idiots?

Their Leonardo and Raphael looked at each other a moment and shrugged. "Fuck it." Raphael said and they took off to help their friend.

The youngest was about to join in himself when the door of the ambulance opened. "Mikey, we need you!" Caitlin told him and he froze in his tracks. He turned to her with a questioning expression. "She's lost a lot of blood." She explained to him.

"Say no more, Kit Kat." He ran towards her and disappeared inside.

Leonardo made his way more cautiously into the fray, not quite sure what to do really. Yes he needed their help to save his brothers, but did he really want to place himself in such a dangerous situation? Bishop's men was one thing, but tanks? Did he really want to try and go against fucking _tanks_? The other two turtles had by now made their way to one of the tanks and had pulled the cannon operator out and Blue Boy went inside. Suddenly the cannon started turning and blasted another tank next to them and it almost instantly froze over. Then they abandoned their tank just as quickly when Ironhide sent a blast to the one they were in. "Hey! Watch the friendly fire you overgrown rust bucket!" Raphael yelled at it.

"I was." Replied the smug booming voice. "Your allegiance has yet to be decided, reptile."

"Stuck up, piss processor." Raphael muttered. He ducked as another blast came roaring in.

"Raph, stop pissing off the angry robot." Blue told him. Leonardo just snorted and rolled his eyes, too late for that, it was already pissed.

Leonardo however spotted another potential fuck up. Vicky and her still unnamed companion were also getting that look in their eyes as they finally decided to try their hand at goon wrangling. He shook his head as he found his feet moving of their own accord. There was no way in hell he was going to let them, there were just to many and unless her skills had remarkably improved since the last time he saw her he knew she wouldn't be a match for the numbers they faced. The old him would have just let the woman go, let her run face first into the wall of stupidity she was heading for. Now? For reasons he really couldn't explain, he didn't want any harm to come to her or her comrade. And with shock he realized that it had nothing to do with the treaty they now had.

"I think not." He told her once he was behind her and she jumped about ten feet in the air and turned around about to whale on his ass. Until he caught the arm she was going to hit him with. Noticing a tank starting to aim at them he grabbed ahold of the black haired girl as well and drug them both down as a icy blast shot over them. Vicky panicked when she found herself pinned under him, slapping and hitting him. Her sheer terror stung him again as he fought to keep his hold onto her even as the troops around them took aim at them. "Calm down!" He snapped before he rolled to the side still holding on to them both. Shots impacted the ground, following as they rolled until they bumped into the yellow robot's foot from where he was standing, shooting back at the tanks. It quickly saw their dilemma and sent a blast of his own into the troops shooting at them and scattered them everywhere before he aimed at another tank and fired. Leonardo got up and flung himself into the now dazed group where the others were already quickly at work.

It was about that time that the occupants of the ambulance opened up and the three figures stepped out. And once the turtle and two women were clear, it too turned into a giant robot. How many of them damn things _were_ there? He just shook his head, a little bewildered over it all as he kept fighting. Fighting was good...nice simple movements, easy to process...didn't have to worry about freaking cars that changed into robots... Until freaking car that changed into robots blew up a tank next to you and you had to dodge for cover...

Leonardo wasn't the only one scrambling to try and get away from the rain of tank parts. Somehow Vicky found herself in the middle of another cluster of men after her own doge and roll maneuver. He was seriously beginning to wonder how in the hell this woman was still alive, she really did seem to blunder into a lot of shit...and blunder her way back out of them...like the tree incident. He shook his head and ran towards the clusterfuck she again found herself in.

Before he could reach her and her friend however, the yellow robot intervened. It almost casually knocked their attackers away before it lifted them to safety. Once the men were down it really didn't take much to put them out.

"Hello Bumblebee." Vicky smiled at the thing. Wait...she _knew_ this contraption?

"Hello my lady, hello my honey." Came a singing voice as a reply. Leonardo just stared incredulously at it as he casually knocked a man out that thought him distracted, then shook his head. He was really wondering about the state of his sanity at that moment...a singing robot...

"Hey Leo! That bot guy is flirting with your girl." Michelangelo teased his older brother.

Blue was eyeing her with just a bit of concern. "I'm really in no position to tell him to stop Mikey."

"I think you better put us down, Bee. I think someone is getting jealous." Bee? What was he? A large bug?

Blue walked across the aftermath of what just happened as the robot put the women down. "Thank you." Bee gave him a thumbs up, Leonardo just facepalmed.

Suddenly the sounds of a cannon charging up filled the half destroyed hanger and they all looked to see the business end of the black one's weapons aimed at them. "Your comrade leaked her organic body fluids all over me...its..Dis- _gus_ ting. And what kind of repulsive beings are you? I should exterminate you." They all got a little wild eyed on that one. Leonardo really wasn't in the mood to deal with this anymore...he wasn't sure how much more of this he could handle.

Suddenly a large object came flying across and hit it in the head with a loud clang. Was that a wrench? "What did Optimus tell you? We do not harm humans." The ambulance one scolded

"What about the filthy reptiles?"

"We need to consult with Prime first, they appear to be allied with the humans."

"Who you calling filthy?" Michelangelo asked him in a hurt voice, "I mean I know Raph is, but the rest of us shower on a regular basis."

Bee chuckled but the black one didn't look so amused. Blue, still a bit unnerved by the whole thing, eyed the thing warily. "Mikey, do me a favor?"

"What bro?"

"Shut up."

"He won't hurt you." Cris' weak voice came from the ambulance cot she was lying on. "Unless you give him reason to. Isn't that right Ironhide?" Leonardo watched as Raphael ran to her side, almost knocking the whole contraption over in his haste to reach her. If the ambulance one hadn't reached out to catch her he would have dumped her onto the floor. Again Leonardo watched as another turtle showed one of these women more than just friendship. And again he felt a pang of loneliness.

"Be Careful! You slag headed creature!." The robot grumbled. "I did not fix her up just so you can undo my hard work."

Ironhide came stomping over toward Cris, each step like a little mini quake. "How do you know me femme?" Out came the cannon again. "Are you a punk 'Con spy?" This one wasn't paranoid at all, was he?

Raphael growled at him and placed himself between them. "Leave her alone you overgrown toaster!"

"Watch your tone with me or I'll reduce you to a pile of squished organic material."

"Try it tin man!" Raph snapped back.

Dd Bee just roll his eyes? Leonardo knows he came close to doing it.

There was another clang as the ambulance one hit Ironhide with a wrench again. "What in the pit is wrong with you Ironhide? Get your processor out of your tailpipe you stubborn mech, or _I'll_ reformat you into a fragging toaster!"

"What did he say?" Mikey asked confused.

"Get your head out of your ass." Cris translated as she closed her eyes again.

"Ok, will someone please explain what is going on?" Blue asked.

"This should be interesting." Leonardo mumbled as he crossed his arms and leaned on a wall. Very interesting indeed.

"Dude," Michelangelo whispered to Bee. "you guys are as messed up as we are."

Bee nodded his head emphatically in agreement. "You know it brother." Came out in radio talk. This time Leonardo did roll his eyes.

Raph eyed the medic robot. "Where in the hell does he get all those damn wrenches from?"

It glared at him. "Subspace, reptile. And if you don't stop this childishness as well, I'll put you in worse shape than that femme is."

"Oh snap." Michelangelo and Casey said together.

"Explanation?" Blue tried again.

"They are transformers. Or, more precisely, Autobots." Vicky chipped in. What in the fuck were transformers? Walking power plants?

"Let me guess, another one of your tv shows?"

"Yeah." Vicky shrugged.

"A damn good one too." Cris spoke up. "Never imagined I'd ever have Ratchet patchin' me up."

Leonardo just stared at them. A _TV_ show? She knew them from a _TV_ show? That's it...she was crazy, they all were crazy, this whole fucking world was cray! And he was stuck in the middle of it all!

"TV show?" Ironhide huffed.

"Movies and comic books too." Cris told him. Oh yeah, can't forget the movies and comic books. Leonardo groaned quietly.

"Do we really have time to do this?" The black haired woman asked and Leonardo's head snapped towards her. This was the first time he heard her speak all night and he knew her voice... Had heard it before. He snarled a bit as he remembered where. In the other lab, she was with Bishop. Marina he had called her... "Bishop more than likely has more forces on the way here by now."

"The girl has a point." He said instead, pushing away his anger. They trusted her it seemed and he wasn't going to risk their truce by trying to take her head off. Speaking of truces. "And we still need to find a way to get my brothers out of here."

"Without letting them out and rampaging all over the place." Michelangelo added and Leonardo shot him a nasty glare.

"Are they dangerous?" Ratchet asked.

"Not for you." Casey told him. "They might cause us some problems though."

"It's another one of those long stories." Blue told the robot. "Let's just say they are sick and not in their right minds at the moment."

"Where are they now?"

"Knocked out in that room over there." Michelangelo pointed to the room they had left earlier, just as the door burst open and they came storming out.

"Aww shit..." Casey mumbled. "Here we go again." He pulled out a bat.

"I don't think that's going to help much Casey." Vicky told him.

"You got a better idea?" He replied as they came charging towards them.

They all lined up to block their way and was about ready to engage the raging turtles when a pair of hands picked two of them up by their shells. Bee raised them to his face with a curious look as they swung their arms and legs, trying to get some kind of leverage to hit him. Ironhide picked up the third by his fingertips and looked at it. "Disgusting. Why do humans keep such things as pets, I will never understand." He grumbled. "Ratchet, this thing better not lubricate on me."

"Ok we get the point, we disgust you. Now will you please quit saying that?" Michelangelo told him. "And please don't squish him, we kinda need them. And who said we are pets?"

The big robot looked back down at him. "You are annoying."

"You have no idea." Raphael told him with a sigh.

"You mean he is worse?"

Raphael nodded. "Always with the pranks and jokes."

"Like you and Leo are any better. Always fighting." Michelangelo shot back at him.

"They sound like the twins." Ironhide mumbled.

"Which ones?" Ratchet asked him.

"Take your pick."

Cris bust out laughing at that. "Ow, ow, ow. Ok, so not ready to laugh yet."

Blue sighed. "Come on, lets see if we find something to put them in." He walked back towards the containment room shaking his still bewildered head. Leonardo wasn't in much better shape as he followed. Was it bad that he was really beginning to miss home, even as fucked up as it was? At least there they didn't have giant robots stomping around...


	16. Chapter 16

**Takes place during Chapters 27 - 35 in "New Realities"**

Leonardo walked in silence behind this strange group, eyeballing every single one of these crazy ass mother fuckers warily. Especially that goofy ass robot carrying his brothers. He had no illusions, he knew he was the bad guy in this group and wasn't so sure that one of them wouldn't turn on him in an instant, even if the calm voice in his head tried to tell him he was being stupid. If they had wanted him dead they would have killed him by now. Still, years of living in a hostile environment, you just don't lose that defensiveness in just a few short hours.

He kept well away from all of them, not really wanting to join in their quiet conversation, though if he were honest with himself he longed for it. Longed to talk to them. Wanted to drill Caitlin on how she would help his brothers. He also knew that his attempts more than likely wouldn't be well received. They only came for him because they needed his help, not because they wanted to be his best buds.

But he had to stop and look at Michelangelo as he paused at the top of the hill they were on, his gaze turned to the compound they just left behind. Then he let out a sigh so quiet Leonardo was sure he was the only one who heard it.

"Mikey?" His older brother stopped and inquired, "You alright little brother?"

"I miss Donnie." He said quietly. "It just doesn't seem right, us leaving without something exploding. I just know Donnie would have wanted to blow this place sky high."

"I know, I miss him too." Their Leonardo laid a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

Leonardo watched that brief exchange, recalling how he had so much wanted to do the same thing to his own Mikey when he was struggling. He envied at how easily they could comfort each other, and took comfort in each other. He looked at the cage they had thrown together...now he couldn't comfort him. He swallowed hard, fighting back his tumbling emotions. Elated to be freed, anger at what had been done to them, fear for his brothers. When Bee put down the cage he walked over to it and looked up into those unseeing eyes as he laid his hand on the cage.

He heard the robots destroy the base, but didn't care. He just stood there as the the debris rain fell down around him. The others ducked, he just stood there with his hand in the same spot. For a moment one of them, Mikey, seemed to reach out to him before that reaching hand turned into a fist and slammed the inside of the cage. Leonardo closed his eyes and sighed as he turned away.

Again his eyes found his counterpart as he held Vicky close, shielding her from the debris that was still falling. Did he feel like this for his Donatello? Did he feel the pain, the frustration? The helplessness? Or did having her near make it easier to deal with for him?

He turned his gaze away from them as Blue looked at his little brother. "Feel better now?" He asked in a strained voice as he held Vicky close still.

"You know what? Yes, I actually do." Michelangelo grinned back. "I hereby dedicate this explosion to my brother Donatello who could not be here with us today." He looked up at Bee. "Is there anyway way I could get one of those guns? He would love to have one."

"Nevermind." Blue told him firmly at the same time Ratchet said "Not a chance!"

"Spoilsports." Michelangelo pouted.

The yellow robot picked up the cage that held Leonardo's brothers and once again they moved on in the night.

After walking the mile and a half back they finally caught sight of the van and trailer. Ironhide didn't seem to impressed with it. "This pathetic pile of scrap is not seriously your transportation is it?" He said while poking at it with the tip of his foot and curling his lips up like he was afraid that the van was carrying a disease of some kind and it may be contagious.

"Hey, it's not that bad." Michelangelo protested. "Donnie put a lot of hard work into it."

Raphael removed the tarp from the trailer and Bee placed the containment unit on it. As the weight of the unit strained the trailers axel it creaked and moaned alarmingly. Raphael looked worriedly at it, "I don't think this is going to work."

"I could have told you that, imbecile." Leonardo said snidely. Any idiot could see that it wasn't going to work. Did these morons think anything through?

Raphael clenched his jaw shut but didn't say anything, not that Leonardo cared about it if he did have something to say. Bee and Ironhide gave him some dirty looks though. "Ratchet, is there nothing you can do for this scrap heap?" Ironhide asked his companion. Leonardo almost snorted, it would be a miracle if he could. This heap of wheeled garbage didn't look like it was useful for anything really.

Ratchet's hologram made it's appearance and went to look over the trailer and by his grumbling he wasn't happy with what he had to work with. Blue walked over to him. "I'm sorry, Donnie was going to fix it up but didn't get the chance." He sighed, and for a moment Leonardo could feel the pain coming from him. The pain and frustration of just wanting to get back so he could help his brother. He felt it, because Leonardo felt the same way. "I think he has the parts he wanted to use in the van if that would help."

Raphael went to the back of the van and pulled out a secret stash drawer of parts and tools that was built in under the floor as Ratchet and Blue and came to look. "If you want I can help." The big turtle offered. "I'm not as good as Donnie but I know a thing or two."

"This Donatello keeps an impressive array of tools."

Blue smiled. "He's an impressive kind of guy. He doesn't use brute force, he uses his brains and is always tinkering on something to help us out. He's pulled us out of more jams than I can count without even having to pull out his weapon."

"Then he'll kick your ass if that don't work." Raphael chuckled.

"Oh please, spare me the sentimental bullshit." Leonardo snapped, his patience at an end. Could they just do what needed to be done without all of this yapping? "While you are here reminiscing our brothers aren't getting better." Suddenly he collapsed to the ground in pain and clutched his side.

"And neither are you." Blue told him.

He went to try to help the downed turtle up but his helping hands were slapped away by Leonardo in a fit of fury. He didn't need his help! Didn't need the sympathy he saw in Blue's eyes. Didn't need anything from him! "Get the fuck away from me, you worthless copycat!" This time Blue's jaw clenched but he backed off.

Someone else didn't. He looked up through pain filled eyes to see Vicky standing in front of him, her eyes flashing. Blue's scent still clung to her and the shadow gripped him again, getting through his defenses aided by the pain he was dealing with. "Oh look," He leered as he got back onto his feet, his arm still pressed against his side "coming over here to kiss me and make me feel better? I'd prefer a nice hard ride though."

He instantly regretted losing what little control he had of the shadow in him as they all exploded from his words. Bee let out a low, almost angry, tone and Ironhide growled a "Femmes deserve more respect!" comment as a cannon popped out. Ratchet looked at him with something inline with hatred. "I'm going to kill that mother fucker!" He heard Cris snap from somewhere behind the rest of them. Caitlin and Marina tried to keep her calm. But it was Blue who snapped the worst, as was to be expected. His patience obviously had snapped. Raphael held him back as Michelangelo placed himself between the two. Casey came running over to try and help hold Blue back.

Leonardo pulled the katana back out, ready to defend himself if his twin broke through but wondering if he could even hold back the furious turtle. Leonardo saw it in Blue's eyes, he knew what Leonardo had done to Vicky and wanted to tear him apart for it. He may not have known when he saved her that night, but he knew now. And Leonardo just threw fuel on that internal fire.

But it wasn't the other Leonardo who struck out at him. The stinging slap Vicky landed onto his cheek echoed in the sudden silence of the field as they all grew quiet and just stared at her. That single slap cleared the shadow away better than Leonardo's internal struggle could and the katana he held slid from his stunned fingers. He didn't even notice it when Michelangelo prudently kicked it out of the way.

"You! I have had enough of your god damn mouth." She snapped at Leonardo, her brown eyes flaring in anger.

"Vicky-" Blue tried to interrupt.

"Shut the fuck up Leo!" She snapped at him too without even turning, then directed her words back at her target. "We came here to try and save our Donnie yes, but we sure as hell didn't have to make you the offer to let you and your brothers live! I'm sure Caitlin could have what she needs just from your blood. That don't mean you have to be alive to give it! We ask for one life on our side to be saved in exchange for your four and the agreement that you leave here unmolested and have risked our own numerous times tonight trying to keep our end of the fucking deal. And for some reason we keep trying to show you some kind of compassion. Would it fucking kill you to show some kind of god damn gratitude? You don't have to like us but I swear to god if you pop off with your ungrateful mouth one more time I'm going to test that theory of Caitlin needing you alive. And if anyone here wants you fucking dead it's me!" Then she slapped him again then turned away from him and stormed off. Leonardo just stared at her. still in shock.

"Femme has some spunk in her struts." Ironhide mumbled. Bee nodded in agreement.

"Dude, you must have really hurt her." Michelangelo growled. "She's never wished anyone dead before. What the hell did you do to her?"

"Just leave it be Mikey." Blue told him quietly. "She's having a hard time with this as it is."

"Come on, let's get started on this trailer." Raphael changed the subject.

And it was his fault. She was going through this because of what he put her through. He sighed and moved away from the others, not sure if he could control his hate in his current condition as pain surged through him again. He collapsed against the van, trying to fight his way through it. When his vision cleared he noticed he wasn't alone.

"Your flaptrap is going to get you into some serious trouble if you don't learn to fix that brain to mouth filter." Marina told him as she leaned against the van near him.

"Like you care." He growled at her. "I remember you... One of Bishop's toadies."

"No, you remember who I used to be." She clarified as she raised a brow.

"Doesn't change the fact that you were there when he did this to us!" He hissed at her, trying to contain his anger. He knew if he let that anger in control again he would jeopardize everything.

"It doesn't." She agreed quietly, regret in her own eyes. "The things I've done I regret even now. I can't take back what I did, all I can do is offer you my apologies for letting all of this get this far."

"You want my forgiveness?" He asked her incredulously. "You just expect me to say 'It's fine' and we all go on our merry way?"

"No, you dip shit." She flared. "I don't expect you to forgive anything! You wouldn't know how!"

Leonardo gave her a warning growl. "Watch your tone woman..."

"Or what? You going to hit me?" She didn't back down, but moved even closer to him, lifting her chin. "Go ahead, hit me right here." She tapped that offered chin, her eyes daring him.

Leonardo snarled as he lost control a little, his hand clenched into a fist and raised it to strike. He met her blue eyes and they struck him to his core. They showed no fear as she watched him, they held only understanding and a calm certainty. His hand trembled a moment, wanting so bad to lash out at her, but he couldn't. "I...can't..." He finally admitted as his hand fell and he collapsed against the van himself.

"I know." Marina calmly replied, still watching him. "And it's not because of the truce either."

"You know nothing!" He snapped at her, turning his head away. Very bothered by the fact that she saw through him so clearly.

"I know more than you think I do." She replied quietly. "Bishop kept me very informed when it concerned any of you turtles. I know exactly where you come from, and what you did over there."

Leonardo just looked out over the empty fields. "And I suppose I disgust you."

"No more than I disgust myself." Came her soft voice. "You aren't the only one who has lived a lie. I've done things I'm not proud of now because I couldn't see past the lies that Bishop told me. Now I'm trying to make up for some of those mistakes. I don't want that life anymore Leonardo, and I turned from it."

He turned his gaze back to her. "Why are you even telling me this?"

"Because I'm not blinded by hate towards you as the others are. You've done nothing to harm me. It's that clear vision that lets me see that I'm not the only one who wants to change."

He snorted. "Change... You make it sound so easy. What you hear and what I've been through are very different things. This isn't my world, my home. I will eventually go back there and I will more than likely keep serving him. There is no option of changing there if I want to live."

"Then change here. For once, do what you feel is right without the fear of punishment. Find out what it feels like, then hold on to that later. Change isn't easy, but if you know who you want to be, then half the battle is already won." Then she turned from him and began to walk towards the others, leaving him to his thoughts.


	17. Chapter 17

**Takes place during Chapters 27 - 35 in "New Realities"**

Leonardo was quiet as he looked out of the passenger window as the van began to move. Raphael and Casey were talking behind quietly in the back and his counterpart was driving. Michelangelo and the women were all riding in those robot things, and he fully understood why one of them was now riding in that big black truck. Blue wouldn't let him near Vicky and neither would the robot it seemed. He was in the front of the convoy and she was in the back.

Blue didn't say anything as he set the van into motion and turned onto the dirt road. For some reason the brooding silence bothered Leonardo. He was about to say something, anything, just so he wouldn't have to listen to the silence anymore. Silence meant thinking and thinking brought his mind to certain areas he didn't want to think about.

Before he could say anything however Blue let out a shocked sound and swerved all over the road a moment before he got the vehicle under control. Leonardo just looked at him with a raised eyeridge before rolling his eyes. "Your driving skills leave much to be desired."

"So does your small talk skills." Raphael grumbled to him. "What's wrong Leo?"

"Nothing really wrong." Blue replied, sending a quick glance to Leonardo's hand that shouldn't be there. "Just had something brought to my attention is all."

Raphael just grunted and turned back to his conversation with Casey.

Again silence filled the front seats as they drove. "You can rest if you want." Blue then offered quietly. "I know this whole ordeal must be draining you."

"Not likely to happen." He snapped back. "Just because I have to work with you doesn't mean I have to trust you."

"If we had wanted you dead I'm sure we could have taken care of that back at the base. We have an agreement, no harm will come to you." He never took his eyes off of the road as he spoke, but he did try to keep his tone nonthreatening as possible. "You need sleep, the next few days may be a little rough."

"Don't patronize me! You don't give a damn about me, so stop pretending you do."

"Who said I was pretending?" He replied quietly.

Leonardo just narrowed his eyes at him. Then looked away and back out the window again. "Do you believe she can do it?"

"If I didn't I wouldn't have come out here."

"Maybe you trust in others too much."

"Maybe you just don't trust the right ones enough."

"I trust no one." He snarled in reply. "I'd be a fool if I did."

"You trust your brothers." Blue paused before he spoke again. "And you trust us, even if you won't admit it. Otherwise you never would have placed their care in our hands."

"Only because I don't have a choice."

"Is it that? Or is it because you knew we would be able to safely see you through this?"

"If I didn't agree to this then you would have taken what you needed anyway!" He flared, quickly becoming irritated with this line of discussion...because the other turtle was right... "Your pet even said so!"

"You know as well as I do Vicky didn't mean that." His calm evenly balancing out Leonardo's anger and frustration. "Never would she do anything like that without anyone's consent. None of us would. She was angry, scared and frustrated."

"You would actually lead me to believe that you would have not taken what you needed from us if I had not given my consent?" Leonardo scoffed at him. "Not even to save your brother?"

Blue turned his head to him then and met him with those intense eyes of his. "No...we wouldn't have, not even to save Donnie. Never would we do such a thing. It's what separates us from the likes of Bishop..." He trailed off, not able to voice the rest of his statement out loud.

Leonardo closed his eyes as he knew where he was going with it though. "And the likes of us." He growled softly.

The lack of a denial proved that he was right with that assumption.

Leonardo was about to snap at him where he can place his assumptions, when he noticed a change come over Blue. He went from calmly driving to tense in the space of a heartbeat. "Casey!" He snapped at the back. "Get up here and take the wheel! Raph, we got trouble, need you outside with me."

"What kind of trouble." Raphael asked as Casey joined Blue, then they smoothly changed places in mid drive.

"Bishop trouble." Blue replied as he headed for the van's side door.

Leonardo also got out of his chair and joined them as the door opened, to the stunned looks of both of the brother's. "I'm going too." He told them flately, crossing his arms.

"Not really advisable." Blue told him. "You've been struggling the last couple of hours."

"I don't care." Leonardo growled. "Those are _my_ brothers out there, defenseless. I'm _going_!"

Blue just looked at him calmly a moment. "Very well." And he flipped himself to the roof without any further attempts to try and talk Leonardo out of it.

"You better not try anything stupid." Rafael growled as he moved closer to the opening. "Or I'll tear your damn throat out." Then he too was up on the roof.

Leonardo just sighed at the now empty space. "Why would I?" He quietly asked the turtle who couldn't hear him. "You are the only hope I have to save them..." Then he followed the other two out.

He joined the other two on the top of the van and they all crouched down to hold themselves steady against the wind. And they all noticed the rapidly approaching headlights coming up from behind, and the helicopter above.

"Shiiiiiiit..." Raphael muttered as he took it all in.

"Come on." Blue snapped and made his way to the back of the convoy. They moved their way carefully across the trailer and onto the ambulance before stopping. "Mikey!" Blue yelled to the yellow Camaro where the orange masked turtle was riding. "Take out that damn chopper!"

For a moment nothing happened, then the Camaro suddenly slid sideways as it broke apart and fired a blast into the ground. The force of the explosion propelled him into the air, then Bee's hand swung around with his body's spin and Michelangelo went flying through the air straight as an arrow at the chopper. His "WooooHOOOO!" as he went up could probably have been heard in California. Leonardo rolled his eyes, something he seemed to be doing a lot of around this group, but he did smile a little. This was a turtle that obviously enjoyed what he did. Leonardo could only wish that his own little brother would be so full of life again someday. "Maybe one day..." He said quietly as he watched the turtle work. "One day we can be free of what we are." He then followed the other two who had by now jumped onto the Camaro and from there to the back of the pickup when the yellow car dropped back even with it. Now they had the vehicles in front of them blocked off from the one pursuing from behind.

"Now what?" Raphael asked.

"We wait." Blue replied as he looked up at the chopper.

A moment later Michelangelo came flipping out of it again. Bee once again did that leapt, transformed, caught him, rolled, and hit the road back in car mode with the turtle safely inside. Leonardo had to let out a small grunt of admiration to that one as the chopper came down with a loud crash in the middle of the vehicles. It took out a few as it hit but there were some quick thinking drivers that managed to dodge the pile of now mashed up metal in the middle of the road.

Michelangelo had by now climbed out of the passenger window and Bee moved in closer so he could join the other turtles in the bed. Blue was watching the pursuers intently as they once again caught up to them. "Pick a target and get ready. Let's see if we can't get these guys a little closer first though. Brace yourselves." Leonardo didn't even ask, he instinctively knew what his counterpart was going to do next, because he would have done the same thing.

"Brake hard!" Blue then shouted and the vehicles complied. As the stunned drivers behind them tried to avoid a collision the turtles launched themselves from Ironhide and attached themselves, two each, to a truck. "Go! We're clear!" Blue then shouted and they sped back up, still blocking the way to the vehicles in front. Leonardo worked on the gunner of the vehicle he was on even as his counterpart was taking care of the driver. Next to him Michelangelo and Raphael had also successfully swiped one of Bishop's vehicles.

Quickly they turned the guns around and fired off a couple of shots, hitting a pair of vehicles behind them and they instantly froze over as those blasts hit. Once again there was a couple of collisions behind the frozen blocks of metal and once again drivers swerved around the destruction. Huh, this was a nice little toy...seemed very effective too, if you had someone behind the trigger that could shoot worth a damn.

Which Bishop's goons seemed to be getting better at themselves as Leonardo found himself dodging incoming blasts. Blue joined his brothers while Leonardo went airborne to yet another vehicle as the one they were in suddenly became a vehiclesicle. He broke the drivers window and reached in and drug the driver out and chunked him off to the side of the road sending the vehicle into a wild swerve. He was barely able to launch himself back to Bee, who slowed down enough to make the leap easier for him, before it swerved and then flipped into a roll.

He stood on top of Bee watching behind him at the flipping vehicle and was in search of his next target. He had that small smile on his face again, this was actually fun... He watched as Michelangelo was trying to take out another vehicle and was about to join him when pain again struck him, the worst yet so far. He collapsed to the roof of the yellow car, writhing in agony as he tried to control it, tried to push it back. Pain, shadow...no...not...now... He tried to focus on anything, but couldn't. He felt himself slipping off of the car but could do nothing to stop it.

He couldn't see through the pain filled haze in his eyes, but he could feel. Someone was near. Someone had grabbed ahold of his harness and anchored themself in it. Someone struggled to hold him steady on top of that car to keep him from falling. He heard a slight, pain filled groan from the stress of holding him and the voice barely registered in his head through the pain...god the pain!

Then there was a bump as Bee and Ironhide collided and suddenly his anchor was knocked loose and now they both were sliding along the roof of the car. It was when he heard her cursing a mile a minute that he could actually focus on who was trying to keep him from falling...Vicky...

Suddenly as, he slipped over the back windshield, the trunk popped open and stopped him from sliding any further. He had to get himself...fight the pain...fight...it hurt...

"Damn it!" Vicky spat. "Bee! I've got a problem! He isn't going anywhere right now!" The car gave a little shudder of acknowledgement. Leonardo tried to focus on that voice, tried to use it to pull out of the pain filled cloud. He was just beginning to see straight again when Bee was bumped again from the other side...and he saw her slide to the side, her arms twisted painfully because her hands were still tangled up in his gear.

 _'Then change here.'_ Marina's words echoed in his head then. _'For once, do what you feel is right without the fear of punishment.'_ Leonardo clenched his jaws in determination. He would...for once he would do just that. He forced his arms to work. He reached out to grab her before she slid anymore and with a burst of strength he didn't even know he could gather at that point, pulled her up and flipped her body onto him so she could untangle her arms from his gear. Pain still filled him as he watched her wedge herself in, to keep them both steady. "Why?" He asked her in a weak tone.

"Because I'm not a heartless monster." She snapped back at him. Another kind of pain filled him then along with the physical one. Was this how everyone saw him? Even after what he just did for her...is that what she saw? "Look I'm sorry-" She was watching him, a hint of sympathy in her eyes.

"It's the truth." He cut her off, again holding his side in pain. Tired of trying to hide the truth from all of them. Yes, he was a heartless monster. Because it was what he was trained to be. "I have to be." He tried to explain as he faded again in his pain clouded fog. If they could only understand...if she could understand...

Pain exploded in him again as the shadow came back with a vengeance. It was so much worse now, the pain blinding everything out. He didn't know where he was, all he knew was that he was trying to fight away those snapping jaws that tried to consume him, tried to turn him into the mindless beast that had already claimed his brothers. Leonardo found that he had to pull inward to fight it and in order to do that...he had to trust in his new companions. _'Maybe you just don't trust the right ones enough.'_ Blue's voice came into his head. Maybe he should, and he now did. He trusted them...even though he had no reason to do so, he did. He faintly heard explosions and their calls to one another, but he was too busy in his own mind to pay any attention to the commotion around him. He had to fight back, to hold it off. To lose to the shadow now would jeopardize them all. He wouldn't allow that...couldn't allow that. _'Never forget who you really are...'_ Father... Leonardo clung to that voice, needed it. _'Because, one time we used to care, and I can't help but wonder what our lives would be like if we still did.'_ Mikey... Leonardo fought on... We can care again little brother... We can be what we used to be... The shadow tried to push those memories away, but Leonardo held onto them. _'Had something else on our minds.'_ Donnie's calm voice came back to him, along with the concern he had on his face when he let slip that it was worry for Leonardo that let Stockman be able to live. _'What is happening to all of us?'_ Raph's confused whisper that he thought Leonardo couldn't hear. Something that needs to... Leonardo pushed harder, the mental strain overwhelming him. He had to push it back, he had too... _'Because I'm not a heartless monster.'_ Vicky's voice came next... Neither was he...no...not anymore...he would not let it win...would not let it turn him into that... He would _not_! With a mighty heave, he pushed it away and slammed it back into the dark corner of his mind where it belonged.

He was lying down somewhere, that much he could tell. But his senses were still reeling from the massive internal struggle he had just been through. It took him a moment, but he knew he wasn't alone when he finally registered a hand on his forehead and his hand snapped up to catch the offending wrist. He knew from the peculiar scent she carried, a mix of her lover's along with a sweeter undertone that came from her directly... Lavender...she smelled of lavender... Why had he never noticed that before? Had his shadow filled lust always clouded his mind to it? "What are you doing?" He asked Vicky as his eyes opened.

"Making sure you didn't die back here. Ironhide wouldn't like that to much I think."

"Always with the jokes." He mumbled letting her wrist go. "Don't you take anything serious?" He closed his eyes again, his body just to weary and hurting to keep them open. The pain...why wouldn't it go away...

"Of course I do. Just because shit goes bad doesn't mean you have to be an ass to everyone though." She told him. "And if I remember right you tend to pop one or two off yourself."

He just grunted, too tired to deal with her smart mouth, though her concern for him filled him with something he couldn't explain. Either that or he wasn't ready to accept it for what it really was. Honest concern for a comrade. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone."

"Your are not fine." Came Leonardo's tired voice from the open front door as the back door opened and Michelangelo climbed in.

"Come on dude, your turn. The doc bot want's to see you."

"Can't you just leave me be?" He snapped, just wanting to be left alone.

"No." Leonardo told him calmly. "We made a deal and until both parties have both fulfilled their sides we will treat you as one of our own. Whether you like it or not."

Michelangelo grabbed his wrist as Vicky moved back up front out of the way and gently pulled him up. His was stunned by their determination to care for him and the gentleness in which they handled him as Michelangelo and Raphael carried him towards the ambulance. Then shock hit him again as he realised something... He didn't think of Leonardo anymore as their Leonardo, Blue, Blue boy or any other name he had called him... He was Leonardo. He didn't want to admit that he shared the same name with this turtle, had considered it an insult. Now...he had given the turtle his rightful name in his mind, because he had indeed proven that he and his family could be trusted. Donnie, Mikey and Raph were all safe... They were safe... He smiled a little at that thought, his weary mind struggling to focus. His little brothers were safe and Leo could rest easy now as the hologram doctor gave him something to help him do just that.


	18. Chapter 18

**Takes place during Chapters 27 - 35 in "New Realities"**

He woke up in an unfamiliar room. He didn't know this place. His dark eyes roamed the room as he sat up in the bed. His lips curled in a snarl as he found himself trapped. He got out of the bed and stalked around the enclosed space, his hands testing the walls. He ran them briefly over the door, not understanding how to open it. He let out a low growl as he found no way out. Again his eyes searched as he growled again. Out, free...needed to be free.

He tilted his head as he heard a soft sound sound coming from the other side of the barrier. His eyes narrowed as he picked up the scent. Prey...prey was coming. He slipped into the shadow in the corner, watching, waiting...

The barrier opened and the scent grew stronger as a female walked in. Scent...mate...must mate...his mate...kill mate... Kill female and feed, hungry... He stalked in as she stopped, looking stunned at the now empty bed. Quickly before she could get away he reached out and grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall next to the door. Kill, killing felt good...kill and eat... She struggled against his grip as she choked, her legs kicking and her hands trying to pull that hand from her throat. Sweet taste of killing...fear...her fear fed him. Pretty smell...like flowers... Lavender? What?... He growled again, pushing the thought away. Kill her...kill... his grip tightened even more.

Pain exploded in his head and he suddenly found himself on the floor on the other side of the room, shaking his head to clear it. What happened...

"What in the hell are you _doing?!_ " Raphael screamed at him as He stalked across the room, his eyes dangerous as he glared at Leo.

"Raph, wait." Leonardo told his brother as he held Vicky close. The large turtle stopped and looked at his brother. Leo turned his attention to his opposite. "What happened?"

He looked at Leonardo, then at Vicky his eyes growing wide with the horror he felt as he realised what he had apparently just did as he saw the marks on her neck. Then he sat on the bed and dropped his head in his hands. "I don't know. The last thing I remember is being in the back of that talking ambulance. Then I am here, on the floor." Confusion ate at him, he didn't know what had just happened.

Leonardo and Raphael exchanged quick looks. "The mutation." Raphael mumbled to his brother who nodded. "It's getting worse."

Leo sat on the bed, staring at the floor. Fully disgusted with what he just did. "What happens now?" He asked quietly. "I broke my word."

"Nothing changes." Leonardo told him. "It wasn't intentional." He paused a moment. "Was it?"

"Of course not." He snapped back. "I wouldn't jeopardize my brothers."

Leonardo didn't say anything, but he did smile ever so slightly. "Deal still stands."

Their eyes met for a moment then Leo looked at Vicky. Again he had hurt her as he took in her fear filled gaze as she remained in the protective arms of her lover. How many times would he keep doing this? Could he not control any of his actions now? "I'm sorry." He told her quietly. "I..didn't..." He stopped frustrated. This was no way to live...

Her gaze met his and she remained quiet as she studied him. He could see the hurt, confusion, fear among a few others. He clenched his teeth at that look, her eyes boring into his soul. Reminding what he did to her...and to others... He was fighting emotions of his own now, guilt, regret...his own pain form the pain he caused her. He couldn't settle his mind down as he was once again faced with something he had done that he didn't want to do in the first place. He watched quietly, waiting for her to say something...anything... The silence in itself was unnerving to him as she just watched him.

Then, finally, and with shaking hands, she pulled out of Leonardo's grip and began to walk towards Leo, her eyes full of determination. She only stopped when Leonardo placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Please, Leo. I have to do this." She told him without looking back.

"I know." He glanced at his brother. " Raph, give us a moment."

The big turtle let his gaze wander over them for a moment, calculating. His gaze traveled from her to Leo before his lids narrowed, something seemed to click and fury rose in his eyes. He snapped his gaze to Leonardo and looked him square in the eye, "I'm surprised you didn't kill him." He told him as he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"As am I." Leo said quietly from the bed. He had come so close to death already for doing what he did, yet...he still lived. A fact that he still couldn't get over.

"Believe me, I tried." Leonardo told him. "I had more in mind than just taking your hand."

Leo looked at his left hand and clenched his fingers. The hand he had taken and Bishop had somehow reattached. "Why didn't you finish me? Maybe we would have all been better off if you did." His heart hurt at the truth he finally allowed these two to see. His life meant nothing anymore.

"Because if I did then I would have murdered you. You were down and you were beaten and my point had been made." Leonardo didn't say it in a boastful way, more with regret actually. "I never wanted for any of it to go that far, but I will fight for what I love."

Leo met her eyes again, seeing now how much they both cared for each other. Fully understanding why he fought so hard as he did. He had found something worth fighting for...Leo himself didn't have that... "Maybe it's a strength after all." He told Leonardo.

"It is." He replied then removed his hand from her shoulder. "I'm right here." He told her and she just nodded silently.

She asked one simple question. "Why?" She choked just trying to get that out, but Leo knew what she meant.

"Because it was what I was taught to do." He told them quietly and truthfully. She deserved that at least. If she needed this conversation, then it was the least he could do to try and explain. "Use your enemy's weakness against them. My master beat that, along with so many other things into me, so many times over the years, you don't question it anymore, even when you know it's wrong." He couldn't meet her eyes anymore and his own dropped to the floor.. "I had to neutralize your lover and his brothers. I soon learned that the best way to get to him was through you. If I could break you, hurt you, damage you in any way, then kill you it would have torn him apart to the point where he would be easy to eliminate. From there his brothers would fall just as easy. Then my master would have had no problems here. It is _their_ presence here that has held him back." He was quiet for a moment as the memories of their encounters flashed through his mind. " However destroying them proved to be easier planned than done. Trying to get you from him isn't as easy as we thought it would be, so when we were swept into the portal, I saw my chance...and I took it." He finished with a barely audible whisper. Ashamed that he finally admitted that he had let another man control him to the point that he did what he had done. Ashamed that he lost himself...

SHe was quiet a moment as she took that in. "The tree...," She asked him, trying to piece this complicated puzzle together for herself "why did you wait so long to come after me in the tree? "

"Because I was hoping someone would come and stop me, stop what I had to do. At first I let you run because I realized we were alone, no one was watching, and I had hoped my double would quickly follow, but he didn't and the longer we waited in that forest the more I felt I had no choice." He refused to look at her, keeping his eyes down as he tried to hide his shame.

"Look at me!" She flared at him. "I had to look at you as I struggled, fought and pleaded for my life. I had to stare at you as you fed off of my fear, enjoyed it, and got a damn hard on from it! The least you can do now is face me the same god damn way I had to face you!"

He winced a little at her tone, because those words stung, then brought his eyes up and met her pain filled ones. Pain as she relived everything he had done to her. Leonardo moved in closer to her, trying to comfort her with his presence even as she kept on. "You look at me and see what you did. You say you wanted someone to come stop you, but you could have stopped yourself! It's _your_ life, _you_ live it. _No one_ can force you into the choices you make. And the choices you made came close to breaking me. You hear me? You almost got what you and your damn master wanted! I felt _broken_! I was suddenly the helpless little girl I was when this happened before, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it! Just as I could do nothing back then." That shocked him...he didn't know...she had been...hurt as a child... God what did he do to her...

"You say you didn't want this to happen, but you chose to do it. Now you're trying to pass the blame on the master that trained you? No, it wasn't him, it was you and you know it. Deep down, you know you enjoyed what you did. Because if you didn't, then you would have found a way out of the situation!" She was hyperventilating by now, and the tears could be clearly seen in her eyes.

He stood up as her words hit him harder than any blow could have. She didn't understand! None of them could ever understand! None of them knew about the shadow that pushed him on, taking over when he couldn't do those things on his own, the shadow that fed off of it... His fists tightened in his anger but she refused to back down from him. Leonardo let out a warning growl and he relaxed his hands. "I'm sorry, but your reasoning don't hold water with me." She told him finally. "There is something more behind the half assed excuses you just gave me. I was hoping for some kind of closure from this but it looks like I'm just going to have to accept what happened as how I saw it and move on. I should have let you fall off of the damn car!"

"Vicky, that's enough." Leonardo finally intervened, turning her to his chest and she clung to him as his arms wrapped around her.

"I never wanted this." Leo told them softly, his heart breaking as he watched her cry against him.

"Neither did she." Leonardo told him just as quiet. "All she ever wanted was to help us, to be apart of what we do. After everything that's happened she still keeps trying, she trains, she learns and she finds the strength from somewhere to move on. If she can, then why can't you? It's never too late to make a change. We could help you."

"I...I don't know." The offer came so unexpectedly, he didn't know what to think about it.

"Maybe it's time you tried."

"It's too late for us. We have gone to far, done to many things for us to go back." Leo told him honestly.

"That's up to you though isn't it?" Leo implored. "I'll tell you this now, when you go back to your world, Shredder will be there. Whether you choose to keep serving him or not is something you can decide now. He has no influence here. She was right when she said your life is your own, live it the way you feel you need too, not the way he wants you to."

Leo swallowed hard as he fully heard the message. This turtle wanted him to leave his Master... and maybe he was right. He knew now that he wouldn't go back home the same. His time here had so fundamentally changed him, that he knew he couldn't serve that man anymore. Not after he had a glimpse of how he could live...how he wanted to live...

The door opened and Raphael came in. He glared at Leo for a moment before turning to Leonardo. "Caitlin wants to talk to us." He looked at Vicky then. "You OK? I can hit him for you if you want."

"Knock it off." Leonardo told him.

"Was just offering, lord knows he deserves it."

"He also pulled her ass out of the fire back there. Just leave it alone Raph, this is one problem hitting won't fix."

"Seems to work with Mikey."

"That's why he still pranks you huh? You keep hitting him to get him to stop and he never does."

"Good point." Raph sighed,eyeing Leo one last time. "Fine, I won't hit him." Then he turned and left the room. Leo actually let out a sigh of relief over that...he was pretty sure he wouldn't make it through that beating with all of his parts intact.

Leonardo just shook his head and with an arm still around Vicky, headed towards the lab. Caitlin was sitting exhausted in a chair when they entered. "It's done. Now I need one of you to give up some blood so I can work on the cure for the other three."

"I'll do it." Leonardo stepped forward, only to be pushed out of the way by Raphael.

"I think you've bled enough in the last twenty four hour period. This time it's my turn." Just then Marina pushed past Raphael, a now snarling Raphael, to address Caitlin.

"You're...done?" She asked her. "Already? I thought it would take much longer."

Caitlin gave her a gentle smile as she stood back up to play vampire to Raph who was glaring at the girl and grumbling something about rude bitches. Ignoring the grumbling turtle she snapped the tourniquet on his arm and continued, "I already knew what to do, I just needed the final ingredient to put it all together."

"Will it work?"

"It has on the left over blood samples I had from Donnie. The only way to tell for sure really is to inject him. But I'm pretty sure it will work just fine, Marina."

Leo just quietly watched from the corner, not really feeling a part of this group, but elated that the cure was done. She seemed very determined in her assurances and he held onto that...it was all he had left.

After taking a few vials of Raphael's blood she stepped back to let him up from where he was sitting. "How do we do this?"

"We go over there, open the lid and shoot him with the serum." Leonardo replied.

"I see that working really well."

"I don't see why it shouldn't."

Raphael just shook his head. "I'll go find the damn tranq gun."

"Why on earth does he have a tranq gun?" Vicky asked. Leo was wondering the same thing with his eyeridge raised.

"He's Donnie, why does he have half the shit he has."

"Good point."

Leonardo picked up the needle as Raphael began rummaging for the gun in a cabinet. His hand shook as he held the one thing that could bring back his brother. Leo felt the same feelings as he looked at the vial. This was the cure, and he desperately hoped it would work. "Let's do this." Leonardo said firmly as he looked around the room, including Leo in that gaze. Their eyes held for a moment and Leo nodded back, to help them with their brother was the least he could do.


	19. Chapter 19

**Takes place during Chapters 27 - 35 in "New Realities"**

They didn't speak as they attached the chain to the lid. There was nothing to be said really. This would either work, or their brother would tear everyone in this room to pieces, it was that simple. But he was hoping that, for once, something would go his way and it would work. Michelangelo and Raphael were likewise securing the door to keep Donatello contained in here and Vicky, the lucky one who got to hide up on the ledge, was reading the tranq gun. How come she got to be up in the safest spot? She seemed a bit nervous about her task, but her hands didn't falter as she confidently held it.

"Door's locked." Michelangelo said, then he and Raphael went to help with the lid.

They all grabbed the chain to lift the lid and set themselves. Leonardo looked up at her and Vicky brought the tranq gun up and ready to fire, then gave him a quick nod. As one, the four turtles pulled and the lid came slowly up. There was a sudden silence in the pit, then with a mighty heave Donatello managed to push it open with the help of the others. Leo's heart dropped as he got his first glimpse of their mutated brother. He was just as large as his own brothers now, and there was nothing resembling sanity in those black eyes. He didn't know what he had hoped to find here, but really was hoping he wouldn't be this bad.

He cautiously came out, not seeing any of them right away. Vicky had the perfect shot as he paused on the rim of the tank he had been confined in, and she took it. Then stared at the tranq gun in disbelief when the stupid thing malfunctioned.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" She snapped, her voice echoing loudly in the chamber they were in and Donatello's gaze followed the sound of her voice up to the ledge and found her standing there. Leo groaned as her eyes went wide and he didn't need to be a psychic to see what she was thinking, her expression said it all. "Uh oh..."

"Why do you love this bumbling woman so much?" Leo asked Leonardo as she started running around the ledge, narrowly avoiding the monster's charge as he joined her up there.

"Because she's the love of my life." Leonardo dryly replied as he ran forward to catch her as she made a wild leap from the ledge, dropping the gun in her haste. Donatello came right down after her as Leonardo caught her. Michelangelo tried to buy them some time by trying to tackle his double mutated brother even as Leo rushed in, but Leonardo ended up dodging and rolling with Vicky out of the way as the youngest turtle was casually backhanded in their direction. It was then Leo's turn to try and distract the beast, only to be knocked back in the other direction.

Those three were now corned and Leo forced himself back to his feet even as Leonardo pushed Vicky behind him. "Donnie!" Leonardo tried to reason with his brother and was answered with a low growl. "Donnie!" He tried again.

"It's no good Leo." Michelangelo told him. "He's to far gone."

Donatello raised an arm to deliver a massive blow but stopped, confused, as a hazy ball of light started to form in between them. Leo's eyes widened in stunned shock and he halted his second advance as he stared at what he saw. "Father?..." He whispered. His heart tore open at the sight of the rat master, he knew this wasn't his father, but theirs. The resemblance of them both had him frozen in place, even as Donatello halted his swing. Leo watched, with tears in his eyes, as Donatello seemed to reach out to the gently glowing form with one hand, then Raphael came in from behind and jabbed the needle from the gun Vicky had dropped into his shoulder, injecting the contents. With a roar of rage, Donatello spun on him and knocked him away, then stalked in on Raphael before he stumbled and staggered. He stood for a moment, looking around in confusion, then quietly fell over. Raphael had to move quick to keep him from slamming his head onto the floor.

The room was now quiet and Leo broke his stare from where the spirit had been to see the others letting out sighs of relief. "Now we wait." Leonardo said quietly.

.

.

"Good god..." Raphael groaned as they stumbled through the doorway of their underground home. "I hope he fucking appreciates this when he wakes up!" He stumbled again under the weight of Donatello as he and Leonardo tried to maneuver him towards the lab. Michelangelo and Leo were trying to keep the knocked out turtle in place as he was draped over the backs of the elder brothers. "Did we really have to lug his big ass all the way over here?"

"I'm not leaving him out there alone!" Leonardo snapped as Vicky rushed ahead to the lab and opened the door as they stumbled onward. "I'm not leaving him alone..." Leonardo said again quietly, more to himself it seemed than to the rest of them.

They ran into a slight problem however...this big lump of knocked out turtle wouldn't fit through the doorway. Raphael looked at the doorway, then up at his brother they were trying to get in there, then back at the door way again. "Fuck this shit..." He growled and dropped his portion of brother.

Leonardo staggered sideways under the weight for a few steps before he ended up falling over, and being squished as Donatello came down on top of him. "Damn it Raph!" His voice snapped from under that large mass of flesh. Leo just sighed as he brought his hand to rub his forehead...he was to tired for this shit...

"What? It's pretty obvious he won't fit and I'm not going to stand here and hold him until he shrinks back to his normal size."

"But did you have to drop him!"

Raphael just shrugged. "Not like he's awake to feel it."

"Not the point!" Leonardo struggled to crawl out from underneath the large figure.

"Hey, he had you to break his fall." Raphael grinned.

"Not funny Raph!"

Cris chuckled from the couch she was resting on as Marina watched with mild amusement. Vicky was trying to hide her smile behind her hand and Caitlin just sighed from where she was waiting just inside of the lab. Leo also had a wry grin on his face as he watched. These brothers could be quite amusing at times...

"Maybe if we roll him on his side." Michelangelo suggested. Then he leaned over his unconscious brother and tried to do just that...and only ended up with his feet sliding out from under him and falling over the top of Donatello. "Well...that didn't work." He mumbled. "What the hell did he eat on his rampage through town? Bricks?"

Leonardo joined his little brother and together they tried again. Muscles straining under the weight, they managed to tilt him enough to where they could get him through the doorway. Raphael and Leo then began to push on the large carapace and slowly, inch by inch, they got him into the lab...until he got wedged in the door frame.

"You have got to be shitting me!" Raphael snapped as they took in the newest obstacle. "That's it..." He then got a good grip on the carapace, and with a great heave of effort began to lift the back end up. Fueled by frustration, his arms trembling with the effort and his legs almost giving out a time or two, he slowly lifted the body and it rotated in the doorframe. Michelangelo barely had time to maneuver the legs inside before the the body passed it's pivot point and flipped through the doorway, the sheer weight of Donatello's large frame ripping the stuck part loose and once again he crashed to the floor. But at least he was _in_ the lab now.

"C'mon Raph..." Leonardo sighed.

"What? I got him in there didn't I?"

"You do know we could have just widened the door frame right?"

Suddenly Raphael looked a little sheepish. "Huh...I guess we could have... Didn't think of that..."

Leonardo facepalmed.

"Well, you can't just leave him there!" Caitlin snapped. "He's lying right in the way."

They all did their own version of the funky hop to get around Donatello without stepping on him and more than one of them sighed as they picked him back up again. Once again groaning and stumbling over his weight, they slowly made their way to the lab bed, which seemed like it was fifty fucking miles away with this burden.

Finally they got him to where he needed to be and tried to lay him gently on the lab bed, but he slipped out of their grip and he landed with a heavy thud and the whole contraption creaked alarmingly. They eyeballed it warily, fully expecting the whole thing to collapse under the weight...but it held. Caitlin immediately moved in and began hooking up various equipment so she could monitor him.

Leo leaned on the nearby wall, utterly exhausted by this point. That hadn't been easy to do for someone who had spent months in confinement...

"Well," Michelangelo grinned "one down, three to go..."

The other three groaned.

.

.

Leo had to admit he was a bit nervous. He was lying in Leonardo's room as Caitlin hooked him up. He was tired and in more than a little pain from having another episode earlier. Leonardo stood quietly off to the side, ready in an instant if he lashed out again. Caitlin seemed not worried about him at all as she prepped the needle.

All of the others had been injected with the cure already, and all moved, painfully, into the lair where they all now slept in their coma like states. That had worried Leo a bit, but Caitlin assured him it was better for them to heal this way. "You can imagine the pain they must have felt changing, I'm not going to make them stay awake for the reverse change which will be just as painful." She had calmly told him.

Now, it was his turn as she disinfected the spot, her green eyes looking right into his dark ones. "Are you ready?"

"Tell me one thing first." He said quietly. "Will...will this keep the dreams away?"

"I don't know." She honestly replied. "I really don't."

He sighed, but nodded for her to continue and the needle slid in and she carefully emptied the cure into him. He saw how quickly it had worked on the others, luring them all to sleep almost instantly, but he himself didn't really expect it to work so fast. Within a few moments he felt drowsy and was unable to keep his eyes open. "Watch over them...my...brothers..." He mumbled out before he grew still.

"We will." She gently told him as she covered him up.

"Is he out?"

"Yes, Leo." She answered her bodyguard as she made sure the turtle on the bed would stay warm. They all had to stay warm now. That's all she needed was for one of them to catch something in their weakened state.

"So now it's just wait and see."

"Pretty much. Nothing else we can do for any of them right now except to make sure they stay warm."

He just nodded. "I'm going to go set up some kind of schedule. I have a feeling round the clock watches would be a good idea incase they wake up. Might get a little tense."

This time she just nodded and he left the room. Caitlin couldn't leave yet. She knew more than any of them did and she felt more than a little sympathy for these poor, twisted souls. She knew why they were what they were. Caitlin leaned over and gently laid a hand on the now sleeping turtle's. "Rest easy my friend." She told him quietly. "I know why you suffer, and I won't let you anymore. And for once I hope you do dream happy dreams. There's more than Bishop's crap that I fixed for you, and someday soon I hope you get to enjoy your new, stable, life. A life you were meant to live, not this nightmare you live now." Then she squeezed that hand gently and quietly left the room.


	20. Chapter 20

**Takes place during Chapters 27 - 35 in "New Realities"**

Leo took refuge in the calm darkness here. It was calm, quiet. It gave him a sense of peace, peace he hadn't felt in a long time. In such a long time... He felt safe here. There was no one to beat him into submission, no foul tasks to complete, no pain, no suffering...no shadow snapping at him. Just...calm.

Time seemed to pass unnoticed here. He didn't know how long he floated in this black void. Alone. But at the same time not alone. There was something here, he could feel it. It didn't really concern him though. It wasn't the shadow, that he could tell for sure. This wasn't a dark, snapping, soul consuming entity but something he had felt before.

 _'Leonardo...'_ He heard the faint call. _'Remember who you are...'_ He tried to find the source of it, but couldn't. _'You are who you chose to be, not what others expect you to be.'_ Father? He reached out to him. He was like a little child, wanting so much to hold him again. He was so full of doubt, fear, confusion. That comforting feeling wrapped around him, like a cocoon of warmth in a life that had turned him so cold and bitter. _'You know the way. Follow your heart my son, it will guide you and you will guide your brothers. There is a better way Leonardo, open your heart and you will find it.'_ Then he was gone.

His eyes snapped open then and he was astonished to find tears in them. He laid there, trying to keep himself together. He wasn't sure if that was an actual vision or just a strange dream. If it was a dream, it was the most pleasant one he had in a very, very long time. He was so weary and sore, probably from whatever his body fought within himself as the cure went through his system, but he felt calm as he sat up in the bed, serene. A feeling that was quickly shot to hell when someone's voice thundered across the lair. "Put them _DOWN!_ "

Leo was up in an instant and was out the door before the last syllable was even yelled and quickly took in what was happening. He was elated to see his brothers up and back to their old selves, but not thrilled so much to see Raph holding Vicky and Marina up in the air by their throats.

"Not a chance." Raph snarled at Leonardo. "I don't know where we are, but they are our ticket out of here." He started to back away and Mikey and Donnie moved in front of him to keep the others at bay. "As long as we have them, you wouldn't dare try anything." Leo clearly saw panic in the eyes of the two women as they struggled in his grip.

Leonardo stopped his advance, obviously not wanting to provoke the agitated turtle. "Put them down." He said again, his tone cold. "This isn't what it seems to you. Just let them go." Leo was already moving in on his brother, hoping he would listen to the other turtle's plea, but knowing he wouldn't. Because he didn't understand.

It hung there for a moment between the two. "No." Raph finally snarled out. Leo was by then next to his brother and as soon as he made that intetention clear, Leo lashed out to get his attention the only way he would listen. He decked him upside the head hard enough to send him sprawling to the floor and he lost his grip on the two women.

Leo then placed himself between his brothers and the now gasping for air women on the floor. Leonardo watched, but he held back, a fact that Leo was grateful for. The last thing he wanted was a fight between them.

"Listen to him, you moron" Leo snapped at Raph. "Or I'll do more than hit you upside the head next time."

"What are you _doing?_ " Raph snapped back at him as he picked himself up off of the floor, eying his brother with rage and confusion.

"Stop and think!" Leo turned to face all of his brothers now. "We wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for them!" Shocked eyes widened at that.

"That's my point!" Raph yelled back. "Where in the hell are we?!"

"In our home." Leonardo calmly replied.

"Prisoners?"

"Guests." Leonardo corrected. Marina and Vicky took the pause that statement caused to try and sneak around them by crawling across the floor but Donnie cut them off staring back down at them. He didn't however make a move to grab them. He just wasn't sure what to do with this situation. Leonardo's jaw clenched and his hands were shaking but he remained where he was. As long as everyone stayed calm, they might make it out of here alive. The silence in the room was misleading as both groups eyed each other. Just because no one spoke didn't mean tension wasn't building up in here.

"Guests? You expect me to believe that?" Raph finally said as his fists tightened at his sides.

"I expect you to listen to me and to him." Leo told him. "Back off."

"Listen to you!? What has that ever gotten us? Pain, suffering and punishments when you fail!" Again rage filled his voice as he spun to face his brother. Rage and frustration.

"You're alive now aren't you?" Dark Leo met his gaze, then looked at his other brothers, his own anger and frustration building with every word. He was trying to save them and they had to be pig headed about it! "You would all be dead right now if it wasn't for me. Yes you got punished for my failures, but nowhere near on the level I did. I can't tell you how many times the Master wanted you all dead nor can I tell you what I had to endure to keep you alive and what I will keep enduring to keep it that way! I think you owe me this one god damn request. Stand, the fuck, _DOWN!_ " His rage filled voice thundered across the lair. Stunning both sets of turtles into silence, not a soul moved in that room.

He walked over to the women and reached down to pull them up off of the floor and gave them a soft push towards the other turtles. They quickly scrambled to that safer side of the lair and Raphael pulled them behind him as the current situation was still unpredictable.

"What did you do?" Mikey asked his older brother, confusion also stamped on his face as he looked from Leo to them and back again. He didn't seem upset about the fact they were here, just confused.

"What I had to." He replied in a soft tone as he regarded the youngest of them. He met those dark eyes that looked back at him, eyes that still held the pain of the life he had been forced to live. It was then that Leo made the decsion. No more would he force any of them to live this way. No more... "Always what I have to. Right now there is an agreement between us and I fully intend to honor it."

"The Master wants them dead!" Raph snapped at him, disbelief and horror obvious in his tone. "He wants them dead and you made a deal with them? You _defied_ him?!"

"Fuck him!" Leo snapped back, his mind now fully set in the choice he just made. They all stared at him in stunned disbelief. "Where was he when we were trapped here in this world? Where was he when we were held by Bishop and I had to watch you all change. Where the fuck was he when we were lying dying on that forest!" He looked towards Leonardo and Vicky. They had something to live for, and it was time that Leo and his brothers found out how it was to live like they did, on their own terms. "Maybe it's time we went our own path." He said quietly, as he turned back to his brothers. "I, for one, have had enough of him." Speechless they exchanged glances with each other, but they didn't disagree with him.

He looked at them, one at a time, and found mutual agreement in their eyes as he gave them time to process what he was suggesting. Soon they all calmed, for the most part. They still looked confused about everything and he silently promised them that he would explain everything to them, just not now. The potential for violence hung still very heavily in the air. He turned to Leonardo then. "You said you would send us home." Leonardo nodded slowly in agreement. "It's time."

"Are you sure? If you feel like I do right now, you're not in the best of conditions." Donatello told him. "You don't even have any weapons. Might not be the best idea to go back unprepared."

"Yes I'm sure." He snapped back, beyond irritated at the moment. "I'm trying to keep them from attacking you morons and I'm not sure staying here until we fully recuperate and supply ourselves would be a good idea." He looked at Vicky with regret in his eyes. "We've already had one misunderstanding, I'm not sure we would survive another one."

"He's right." Leonardo told his brother. "Get them a portal open and send them back. I'm sure they can take care of themselves from here on out."

Donatello nodded and made his way to the lab then stopped to look at his counterpart. "Come with me, I need your portal coordinates. I'm sure you remember them?"

"Of course I do. What kind of idiot do you think I am?" Donnie replied as he followed.

"Does he really want to know?" Michelangelo mumbled and Leonardo jabbed his elbow in his brother's side. Mikey however grinned. That sight came very close to making Leo smile. It was the first sign of anything besides despair he had seen on his little brother's face in a very long time.

The next few minutes were tense as the Donnies were busy. Leo kept himself between his brothers, mainly Raph, and the other turtles. The big turtle was eyeing them with undisguised hatred but kept his distance. Mikey however seemed thoughtful as they waited.

Donatello called out then that the portal was open and Leo pushed his brothers in front of him to the lab, with the the other turtles following behind, more than likely to make sure no fights broke out. After a moment Vicky went after them. Leo paid none of it any mind until he got his brothers through the portal. And once he did, Leo stopped before he went through and took a deep breath before he turned to them. "I hate you." He told Leonardo in a solemn tone. "I will always hate you, because you are something I can never be. You have something I can never have. You live a life I never got the chance to live. But you do have my thanks, if that means anything to you."

"It does. And you have mine."

"Not that it will do me any good."

"That's up to you isn't it? You don't need him. You're stronger without him and you can beat him."

"That remains to be seen." His eyes swept over until they found Vicky, then they stopped. At first he didn't know what to say to her, but felt that he had to try and make some of the things he did right. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I hope that one day you can forgive me and move on, but I know I will never forgive myself." Then he turned, walked through the portal.


	21. Chapter 21

Leo stepped into the portal room back home. He found his brothers waiting for him in the quiet room. Quiet because there was no one in it right now.

"Leonardo..." Mikey almost whispered as he made his appearance "Donatello brought us back here... I don't...want to be here."

"I had no other way." Donnie explained as he took a look at his younger brother's torn face. "There are no other portals that we could have used and it would have been to risky just trying to pop one open...no way I can calculate where we would end up."

Mikey was looking around like a trapped animal, his eyes wide as he tried to find a way out. Leo immediately reached out and put his hands on his brother's shoulders and turned him to face his older brother fully. "Michelangelo, listen to me." Mikey's head was still looking frantically around and Leo knew he was going to panic soon. "Mikey... My little Mikey..." Leo tried again in a soft tone. The smaller turtle's eyes widened at the nickname and looked up at him. "It's ok. We will stay only long enough to grab some gear and weapons from our rooms, then we will go. I promise."

"And where exactly are we supposed to go to?" Raph snapped at him. "Not like we _have_ a place to go."

Leo looked over Mikey's head and met his brother's eyes. "Then we will just have to make our own place Raph."

"You're serious..." Raph whispered back as he also was stunned by his childhood nickname. "You want to...leave him..."

Leo just calmly returned that stunned gaze, even as he still had his hands on Mikey's shoulders. "If I don't, then I will lose him Raph. Even you can see he has been struggling with this. As we all have. It's time to move on. To save Mikey if for no other reason."

"Just long enough to get our gear?" Mikey asked quietly, like a broken child who was asking for the nightlight to stay on to keep the monsters away.

"Gear up and go." Leo quietly confirmed as he gently turned Mikey towards the door, then kept an arm around his shoulders as he walked next to him.

They didn't make it to the door however when it suddenly slammed open. Ninjas filled the room and Spencer came rushing in behind them. Donnie's assistant skidded to a stop even as Leo removed the arm and narrowed his eyes at the human who was looking back at them in astonishment. "This I didn't expect to find when the sensor alarms went off." He took in their weary appearance and the total lack of weapons and any kind of decent gear and clothing. "The Master will no doubt want to see you. I expect he will want a full explanation."

Mikey was trembling next to him but Leo quietly laid a calming hand on his elbow, where Spencer couldn't see it. He had to play this very carefully. "And he will get one, but not until we are presentable. I will not risk insulting him by showing up like this."

"Very well. I'll go let him know you are here."

"You do that." Leo told him as he gave him a cold look, one that he wasn't really faking. He despised the man. "We will return to our rooms." He raised a dangerous eyeridge at him. "I trust they have remained untouched? I'd hate to have to go find my things. Might inconvenience me to the point some individuals might not survive the retrieval process."

Spencer's face paled a little at that. "No, no. No need for that. The Master left orders for your rooms to be left alone. He somehow knew you would make it back, though the rest of us were beginning to doubt it."

Leo almost snorted. They did make it back, no thanks to him. It was the turtles he had originally been sent to destroy that he should be thanking... The irony of that almost made him laugh humorlessly. "I see. I will hold you personally responsible then if all isn't exactly the way we left it." Spencer paled even more as they walked out of the room.

Once out of sight Leo quickly moved to support a violently trembling Mikey even as Donnie moved in on his other side. Leo knew that his little brother was trembling, he could feel his agaist his body as he shook. He was tired and weak still from their ordeal, but most of it was from fear. All of this had broken his little brother more than he had expected and he was silently cursing the man he no longer wished to serve and Bishop. Between the the cruelty of both of them, Mikey was on the verge of a total mental collapse. "Stay with me little brother." He whispered quietly. "I'll get you out of here."

"We'll get you out of here." Raph corrected just as quietly from right behind them, his eyes filled with concern for the shaky turtle.

They maneuvered the hallways as quick as they could, staring down any servants who looked too closely as to why the normally brutal turtles were showing kindness, especially to one of their own. Their hate for each other was well known here. Leo was determined to change that.

It was Mikey's room they reached first and Donnie opened the door for Leo who guided him inside. "Hurry." he told his brothers who stood outside. "I don't know how much time we have." They just nodded and quickly disappeared in their own rooms.

Mikey stood in the middle of the room, his eyes roaming the sparse place. The only furnishings in here were the weapons hung on the walls and a simple dresser where his gear and spare clothing were stored. "Mikey?"

"This is no home." He mumbled. "This room holds nothing but memories of nightmares, pain and suffering..."

"I know Mikey..." Leo calmly told him. "Just grab what you need."

Mikey just nodded as he moved to the dresser and pulled out some things while Leonardo grabbed some nunchaku off of the wall along with some kunai, shuriken and a few other things. By the time he had grabbed enough to feel that his brother would be suitably armed Mikey had finished dressing, and just stared at the weapons Leo held in his hands, his eyes sad. But he did reach out and placed them where they went into the harness he was now wearing. "How much innocent blood have I spilled with these..." He mumbled quietly as he took the 'chucks.

Leo didn't know how to answer that, but he did lay a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "Come on." Mikey just numbly nodded as they made their way out the door. Donnie was already waiting out in the hall and Leo left Mikey with him while he entered his own room.

He fully felt his little brother's despair as he stood in his own room. Everything here reminded him of things he had done. The weapons of brought memories of the innocents he had killed, the bed reminded him of the nightmares he had, even the walls...how many women had he brought here ended up huddled in fear along them? Before he killed them... He wasn't surprised to find his own hands trembling slightly as he dressed and rearmed himself. The room screamed evil at him and he just wanted to leave it.

He stepped out into the hallway a short time later to find Raph had by now joined his brothers, and so had someone else. "Looks like you freaks didn't die after all." Hun growled at them as he stood in the hallway with his arms crossed.

"Like you got room to talk about being a freak." Raph growled back at him. "Are those genetically modified muscles squeezing what's left of your brain yet?"

"Watch your mouth, reptile." Hun snarled at him.

Quicker than Hun could react, Raph pulled out a sai and placed the tip under his chin. "Maybe you should watch yours."

Leo had shifted during this exchange to where Mikey was now standing behind him, trying to keep Hun from seeing how battered the youngest was right now. "What do you want Hun?" Leo asked him. "Besides testing how far you can push us before we decide to slice you open to shut your ass up?"

"You can't talk to me that way." His eyes were wide already, but widened a bit more as Raph inched the tip into his chin a bit.

"I just did." Leo told him.

"Things have changed around here!" Hun told them. "You aren't the Master's favorites anymore!"

"Have they now?"

"Indeed, they have my student." Shredder's voice came from down the hall as he approached them. "I see you have now made yourself presentable, now you may tell me exactly what has transpired to result in your long absence." He looked them over, his dark eyes calculating, then widened when they reached Mikey. "Your eyes..." Came out in a hushed tone. "What has happened to your eyes?"

Leo turned to look at Mikey and was met with the baby blue orbs he used to have. They looked out clear, untainted as he looked back at Leo confused. Stunned he stared at him, for the moment forgetting who was standing in the hallway with them.

"What has happened!" Shredder roared this time. Once that tone had struck fear in Leo, now it just filled him with annoyance as he exchanged looks with Raph. The larger turtle letting out a quick wink at him.

"You wish to know?" Leo asked as he turned back towards the man who had robbed them of so much. "Then consider it the last thing I do as your student and follower." He calmly told the large man. Hun's breath came in as a shocked hiss as Shredder's eyes widened again at those words. "We've decided not to follow you anymore, that's what happened."

"You... _defy_ me?!" He roared again.

His temper tantrum was cut short however when Hun suddenly crashed into him and they both went tumbling to the floor. "Oh...shut up!" Raph snapped after he launched the large man at him.

Leo didn't even try to engage, he just grabbed Mikey's arm and began to drag the youngest behind him as he took off running. "Where to?" Donnie asked as he pulled on Mikey's other arm.

"Roof!" Was the quick reply. It would take them to long to try and make it to the main doors, which was stories below them. Shredder would doubt have a more than enough time to reinforce that entry/exit point. The roof however was only a few stories above them.

They crashed into the stairwell, knocking the door off of it's hinges, and charged up the stairs. Mikey snapping out of his depression long enough to motivate his two feet on their own and they moved much faster. They door to the roof got the same treatment and it went flying into the stunned roof guards, knocking them over. They didn't pause, even as the elevator opened not far away and Shredder and Hun came pouring out, along with a group of ninjas. "If you shall not serve me, then you shall die by my hand! I will kill you all just like I did that pathetic rat!"

"Father..." Mikey whimpered, faltering for a moment. "Maybe we would be better off if he did kill us..."

Leo was about to turn and grab his arm again to help him along, But raph came up from behind and did it. "Father would be proud of what we are doing Mikey." His deep voice rumbled quietly. "Giving up on this new life we haven't even tried yet, not so much."

Donnie pulled out a rope and grappling hook as they neared the edge of the building and smoothly threw it over the gap to the rooftop farthest away. "Grab it!" He snapped as he tossed the end of the rope to the rest of them. Leo and Raph gabbed it with one hand and held Mikey with the other, then the three brother's laughed off of the building, letting gravity rapidly widen the distance between them and their former home and everything they had ever known.

"I will find you!" Shredder roared from the rooftop. "There is no where here you can hide from me! I _will_ find you!"

They landed on a rooftop and Leo briefly looked back, for an instant wondering if they could survive out here. Maybe they couldn't, but at least they tried. After a slow sigh he turned back to his brothers. Lying one arm across his little brother's shoulder, he led them away from here and on to a new life.


	22. Chapter 22

They searched for hours, wandering the sewer tunnels. They were tired, sore and more than a little irritable, but they still searched. They were young the last time they had been there and the memories of how to get there had faded as they grew older, but they still searched. The search was made even more difficult by the fact that Donnie didn't have his usual pack strapped on him, his spare one was in the lab and they hadn't had the chance to get it. It didn't seem right for Leo to use it anyway. They were on a journey, a journey to find themselves again and that they had to do without any gadgets to help them along.

Mikey had gone numb, blindly following his brothers as they gently led him. Quietly following them like a silent shadow. All Leo could do was send concerned glances his way, he didn't know what else _to_ do...

"This is stupid." Raphael muttered as they once again tried an old abandoned sewer tunnel. "We are never going to find it."

"We'll find it." Leo said determinedly. "We owe it to him to find it."

Raph just sighed as they trudged along.

It took a couple more hours, but they did eventually come across sections of tunnels that started to seem familiar to him. Donnie, too, sensed that they were near and firmly pushed ahead of his brothers. After about another fifteen minutes they finally rounded a corner and found the section of wall that had been blown in so long ago.

They stood still in the tunnel, none of them wanting to take that first step. Not sure what they were afraid of, but afraid all the same. It was Mikey who took the first trembling steps towards that hole and the others followed his faltering footsteps. Stepping through it was like stepping back in time. They were in the dojo, an area they had spent so many hours as children, training, learning. The weapons still adorned the walls that their father had so painstakingly gathered together for them. The once shiny and well kept blades now pitted with years of rust and dull. The practice sticks had long since succumbed to age and they lay warped and broken on the floor under the hooks that had once held them up.

They looked solemnly around as they took in just how much the place had changed. No more was this a happy place, that had been forever taken from it, and them.

Leo sighed quietly as he looked around, then his eyes settled on something that made him tear up. Not far away, still lying untouched from where he fell, were the remains of their Father. His robes had been reduced to tattered rags that clung to his skeleton in bits and pieces, his walking staff still lying on the floor next to him also warped and splintered with age. Leo knew that the scavengers should have come in and dealt with the body, scattering the bones who knows where, but he was intact as Leo slowly walked over to him. He collapsed next to the remains, his heart breaking all over again. He barely noticed Mikey collapsing to the floor next to him, until he heard his younger brother crying.

He looked over at Mikey, who wept unashamed as he grieved for the loss of their Father all over again. His blue eyes overflowed with tears. Leo was still shocked at seeing those blue eyes, but what shocked him more was the fact that the shadow wasn't growling at the show of weakness. As a matter of fact...he didn't feel it at all anymore... And it was the lack of that snapping, snarling beast that let him now reach out and hold his brother close to him. Mikey clung to him as he let out sob after sob, even as Leo's own tears spilled out from his eyes.

Raph watched them, blinking his own tears away as Donnie stood just as emotional next to him. Each of them saying a final farewell to the only being that had ever shown any of them anything resembling love.

"It's...it's not right." Mikey recovered enough to mumble out. "We can't leave him like this..."

"I agree." Donnie mumbled as he began to look around what was left of their old home. "Raph, come help me with this..."

The large turtle followed the scrawny one over to where portions of the wall had been blown into the room. They talked quietly for a moment before picking up various stones and bringing them back over. Then, carefully, Donnie began solemnly placing them around the remains as Raph went back for more. Leo and Mikey watched, with Leo still holding his little brother close, as Donnie created a small, but beautifully laid out, cairn around their Father. Finally, with a heavy sigh, Donnie put the last stone in place. Mikey looked at it for a moment before reaching out with a trembling hand and gently picked up the old walking stick and placed it gently on top.

They just all stayed gathered around the makeshift grave for a a little while. They all full well knew they couldn't stay here for long, it wasn't safe because this location was known to their former master. If they stayed to long they might be discovered here if he came looking for them. But, even knowing this, they couldn't bring themselves to leave.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Mikey stood up and looked around the room. "I want to look around one last time." He quietly told them. "Just for a few minutes..."

Leo nodded and Mikey cautiously stepped into the main part of their home, with the other two following him out. Leo stayed where he was, gently laying a hand on the pile of stones in front of him. "We did it Father." He whispered quietly. "I don't know what awaits us now, but we no longer serve him. I hope that this somehow helps you rest in peace."

That was about as far as he got when he heard a high pitched scream come from the main room of the lair. He quickly shot to his feet and out the door. He immediately noticed Mikey and Donnie staring stunned at him before they pointed to the area where their rooms had once been and Leo ran in that direction even as another one came ripping across the supposedly abandoned space.

"Please don't hurt me!" Came a pleading voice from Raph's old room and Leo ran in that direction. "Please!"

Leo burst into the room and saw Raph standing over someone, his dark eyes dull and a sneer on his face as he held a sai, point out, at a figure on the floor. All Leo could make out was a shock of red hair as he quickly moved in front of his brother and brought a katana out in front of the sai as it came down. He risked a quick look and his eyes widened as he saw a child there, no more than ten and huddled in fear in the corner he had her cornered in. "Please! I'm sorry! I didn't know this was your place, I didn't take anything! I swear!"

Raph's eyes were still flat and dangerous as his snarl turned into a growl, his arm trembling as it so much wanted to lash out in the rage Leo could feel coming from him. Soon Donnie was with them, also trying to hold Raph back as Mikey just quietly watched from nearby.

"Leave her alone!" A new voice shouted as another human ran into the room, man who couldn't have been older than twenty, and put himself between them and the child who was shaking in fear. "She's just a kid! She didn't do anything!" Raph just growled out at him, but he just returned that glare with one of his own. "I know who you are." He spat. "I know you can easily kill me, but I'll be _damned_ if I let you hurt her!"

"Both of you just shut the hell up and knock it off!" Leo roared over the commotion, pushing Raph back with enough force to make him stumble. "Raph! Stop it!" He flared when the turtle darted right back in. "Raph! This is what we are trying to change!" Leo had to resort to punching the larger turtle in the face...again...to snap him out of his rage. That was starting to become a habit in the last day or so. He hit the floor hard, his eyes looking up confused at Leo who was glaring down at him. "Stay down." Leo growled at him and Raph just nodded as he rubbed his cheek.

Then Leo turned his attention to the humans. "I am sorry." Both of them looked at him in shock. "We didn't know you were here."

The man just looked at him incredulously. "You're...sorry? The most feared, ruthless and deadly minions of Shredder...and you're _sorry_? I think I broke my ears somehow," He mumbled "because I know I didn't just hear that..."

"You did." Leo told him flatly. "Imagine that." Then he sighed. "Believe what you will, but you and the child have nothing to fear from us."

By now the little girl stood up, brushing off her already dirty pants. "Why?" She asked, her brown eyes intense under that filthy mop of red hair.

"Good question pipsqueak." The man mumbled as he took her hand, to keep her close to him no doubt.

Leo just calmly looked at them, after shooting Raph another glare when he tried to get up, he plopped right back down again. "Because we don't want that life anymore." Was all he told them. "But it seems the fight to be free of him is harder than I had anticipated..." He mumbled more to himself as he again looked at Raph. The sheer rage he had had in his eyes, towards an innocent... Mikey's depression... there was still so much damage...

The child tilted her head curiously a moment as she took in the words, then walked over to the prone turtle. "Holly..." The man said in a warning tone.

"Oh stop being such a ninny James." She told him as she edged closer, very cautiously. She was close enough that Leo was going to intervene, but Raph held up a hand to stop him, his dark eyes clear now as he watched the little girl. "You didn't mean to do that?" She bluntly asked him then.

"No...and I'm sorry."

She tilted her head again as she studied him. "Change is hard, huh..." She sighed her own sigh then. "I know a lot has changed for me and I don't like it."

"No one usually does." Raph agreed as he looked up to her from his prone position on the floor.

"James told me once...before we had to go into hiding...that sometimes you have to go through the hard parts of change before you can really see the effects of it. I still don't like wandering around down here though." She finished quietly.

"And why are you?" Raph asked as he carefully sat up, under Leo and James' watchful eyes.

"Didn't like the way ol' tin man was runnin' things up there and made the mistake of yelling it at some of his goons."

"And of course the retaliation was swift." James ruefully replied. "We've been in hiding pretty much since she shut her mouth that day."

"It usually is with him." Leo agreed quietly.

Holly just shrugged it off and looked back at Raph. "You keep tryin' though, ok?"

Leo was looking directly at him when it happened. Raph was quietly watching this brave little girl and his eyes softened, then slowly, ever so slowly, faded from black to the emerald green they used to be. "I will..." He told her quietly.

She just grinned and ran into his arms and gave him a hug. His eyes widened in shock and he looked up at Leo, not really knowing what to do about it. "If you guys can leave Mr. Grumpy Pants, maybe there will be hope for the rest of us one day." Her muffled voice came from his chest before she pulled back and gave him a big smile. A smile that was quickly washed away as the room was suddenly filled with ninjas. Leo was cursing under his breath as his katanas came out. They had stayed too long, and now others were in danger because of it. Guilt filled him a moment, then he quickly pushed that thought away as he stepped forward, even as Raph stood up and placed the child behind him. Well, if it was a fight they wanted...they were going to get one.


	23. Chapter 23

The katanas swung around, one slapping the staff away as it came for him, the other smoothly running the man through before he kicked him off of his blade. Snarling he turned towards another one, his foot leading in a high roundhouse that connected with his next opponent, sending him flying into the wall. Then he quickly spun and sliced another one across the stomach before pushing him out of the way.

Holly was screaming behind him as the fight heated up, the brothers letting out their pent up fury on those who refused to leave them alone. And it was those terrified sounds that spurred them on. "Not this time." Leo growled as he impaled another ninja. "Not. This. _Time!_ " He kicked out again and heard the crack of bones breaking when the next on hit the wall.

Raph was fighting next to him and Donnie was on the other side. Mikey had his weapons out, but hung back, his eyes unsure as he looked from his weapons and back to the men again. "What's the point?" Leo heard him whisper. For some reason that made him lash out even harder.

He didn't know why these men thought they had a chance against the turtles. They must have know to come after them would have been a death sentence. But then, they would have died if they didn't try. That's just how it worked here. Donnie's staff cracked as he hit another head with tremendous force, caving the skull in and that body joined the rest on the floor.

"If you want to live, I'd advise you to go find someone else to play with." Raph growled, even as his sai slammed into the body of one of his opponents. "Otherwise you are going to be playing in hell here pretty soon."

"You know they won't back off." Leo told him, even as his own katana sliced across a forearm, then he punched the owner out of the way. "They have to much to lose."

Raph just grunted as his now green eyes flared with anger. "This time you won't drag me from my home!" He then roared as he charged...all of them. "This time you will regret stepping foot into this place!" Leo and Donnie could only stare as he single handedly cleared out the rest of the ninjas on his own...leaving some in pieces all over the floor. Mikey didn't seem to care about anything that was happening around him.

Out of living targets now, Raph continued his attack, on the wall. He was beating it with such a fury that he was leaving bloodstains from his fists everytime he connected. Leo dropped his katanas and quickly rushed over to his brother and ended up ducking a swing as it came for him. Again rage filled those eyes as Raph swung out violently at anyone that came near him. "Raph!" Leo snapped at him. "Knock it off!" He just ended up ducking again as the other hand came in. "Damn it Raph!" Leo tried again, and this time when he ducked he didn't do it quick enough and Raph clipped him hard enough to send him flying, past an uninterested Mikey who just sadly watched his brother fly by him, and into the back wall where he slid to the floor with a thud.

Leo struggled back to his feet, fully intending to go try again to calm him down, but froze in shock at what he ended up watching. The little girl, Holly, just calmly walked up to him, ignoring the fact that he was back to punching the hell out of the wall, and reached out and tapped him on the shell. The response was predictable as he spun around, fist leading, but met nothing but air because he wasn't expecting a short person to approach him so his fist went way over her head. He swung so hard he spun himself around once and ended up falling over from his momentum. Holly just leaned over his head and looked down at that confused face. "You went bonkers again." She then politely informed him.

"Holly, for the love of whatever god that may take pity on my poor soul, do you _have_ to do that crap!" James snapped at her as he began to pull her away from the dangerous turtle.

"What?" She asked him as she pulled her arm out of his grip. "He didn't hurt me."

"No, but he could have!"

"Oh stop being such a worry wart for a big brother." She rolled her eyes at him.

" _Some_ body has to do the worrying for you." He muttered. " _You_ sure don't do it enough..."

Leo chuckled a little in spite of himself as he walked past them to go check on his brother. Girl had some spunk... "You ok?" He asked as he reached out a hand to help Raph up.

"I...I don't know..." He answered as he looked at his bloodstained hands. "I really don't..."

Leo just sighed as he picked up his katanas and, after cleaning them on the cloth from the bodies, resheathed them. He then looked at the little girl who seemed unfazed by that act. But then again, if you grew up in this world, that was probably one of the lesser horrible things the child may have seen. "It's not safe for you to stay here." Leo told her and her brother. "There may be more of them."

James just nodded but Holly looked at Leo. "What about you guys?"

"We will move on ourselves." He told her as he went to go retrieve the once again despondent Mikey. "We just came here to...do something. It's been done and now we need to move on."

"Can we go with you?"

Leo paused, then stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"Can we go with you?" She asked again as she looked up at him.

He sighed as he looked from Raph, to Mikey and back at her again. "No, child." He told her gently. "The wounds we have from what we went through are still too fresh. I don't want to endanger you any more than we already have."

"But-"

"No Holly." James told her as the turtles began to leave. "He's right."

She pouted, but ran up to them again anyway. Then to the startlement of all of them she gave them each a hug. What was it with this girl and hugs? "Well, I hope I get to see you again." She told them quietly. "I know I'll never forget you."

"We aren't worth remembering." Mikey told her, his dead eyes not even really looking at her as he looked at her.

"Maybe to most." She replied. "But I know what I saw, and that wasn't the bad turtles everyone told me about. I will meet you again." She said determinedly before she stepped aside for them.

Leo just closed his eyes at the girl's comment and carefully pulled Mikey along. Just because she didn't see it didn't mean they weren't bad. It was easy to overlook the truth and see what you wanted to see when you were a child. "We shall see little one." He told her as they left the room. She followed them out and watched them leave, but didn't speak to them anymore. Soon enough they left their old home, and Holly, far behind.

This time they were more careful as they moved on, now knowing that they were indeed being searched for. What they had encountered was more than likely a scout party and when they didn't report back the tunnels would be flooded with Shredder's men. He hoped James would take his advice and find a safer place to hide.

Again the hours passed as they wandered, trying to find someplace to go that would be safe enough to settle down. It was looking less and less that that would be the case though. Everywhere they went they had to withdraw to the shadows to avoid detection. Everywhere they went, there was someone looking for them. Leo was worried and frustrated as they kept moving. There had to be one spot in these tunnels they could hide, just for a few hours...one place where they could rest and take the time to find something to eat. There had to be...

Leo paused again to let the trudging along Mikey catch up with them...again. The behavior would have frustrated him before, now he just looked on worriedly as Mikey just seemed content with following, if he even cared. Tiredly Leo leaned against the wall as he debated his options. They were still tired and not at full strength from the whole mutation ordeal, he could clearly see that on the tired faces of his brothers, and they had been on the move constantly since their return. They weren't going to take much more of this. But he'd be damned if he could find a safe place for them to rest. Going topside wasn't an option, the eyes up there were far more numerous and he wasn't going to risk even a quick trip.

He still leaned on that wall, desperately trying to figure out some thing. Maybe they should just leave the city entirely. Find something out in the landscape. Foraging for the supplies would be harder, but they would have a better chance at a decent shelter. Or maybe they could- His thoughts were ripped from him as the wall gave way behind him and he felt himself tumbling down a dark, slanted tunnel before hitting the bottom, hard.

"Leo!" Donnie's voice called from above him. "Leo!"

"I'm fine!" He called back as he got back to his feet, slightly embarrassed. He then looked around, and his eyes widened as he took in what he saw. "More than fine..." He whispered in shock. "Come down here!" He called up even as he moved further in.

It was dark, but not enough really to bother him. He had spent years training, fighting and moving in the dark. But what he could see was very promising. "It looks like an abandoned bunker." Donnie said softly as he walked up next to him. "Probably from when Shredder started to enforce his authority."

"Someone built it to hide from him." Leo muttered quietly.

"And since I've never found anything about a bunker in this area...it's safe to say he doesn't know about it either..." Donnie added thoughtfully and they exchanged quick glances.

"Think it's still in use?" Raph asked as he gently guided Mikey in.

"By the looks of it, it's not." Donnie replied, rubbing his fingertip along a small ledge. He held out his dust covered finger to prove his point.

By then Leo had already made his decision. "We'll rest here. If it's secure enough..."

"Maybe we can stay here." Raph finished the unspoken thought and Leo nodded.

Donnie had walked over to a circuit box nearby and played with it for a moment. Then with a few cracks, pops and sizzles a soft light from old, worn bulbs filled the space and they looked around. It was a large space, not as large as their old home, but large enough to suit their needs for now. There was old, battered and mismatched furniture scattered around and what looked like a improvised kitchen was set up in the far corner. A hallway led off to the side next to it, hinting at more space further in. Leo took it all in with approval, this place was looking more and more promising.

"Donnie, see what you can do about fixing something up for us to warm up something to eat with, Raph you see if you can relatch that door." Leo told them as he headed back out.

"And what are you going to do?" Raph asked as he walked with Leo towards the door.

"We need supplies." He replied. "I'm going to go get some."

Raph just nodded as he began inspecting the latch that had given in so easily under Leo's weight, but another grabbed Leo's arm and spun him around. Leo found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes. "Be careful Leo..." Mikey told him, his eyes full of fear for his brother. "Please..."

Leo placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "I will little brother." He promised. "I'll be home soon, with something to eat. You go get some rest for me, ok?"

Mikey just nodded as he turned back to the abandoned shelter. "Home... It's nice to have a home..."

Leo just smiled at him before he turned again to leave and Raph closed the door behind him. Yes...this place would certainly do... They have a home...


	24. Chapter 24

He broke the lock easily and slipped inside the dimly lit warehouse. And he didn't feel guilty about doing it either. This was one of Shredder's supply depots after all. This was only one of many, and he had raided them all numerous times over the last five years. Five years had passed since they had left his service. Five years of hiding, only coming out to forage for food. Five years of trying to figure out their place now in this world.

Leo sighed as he began to make his through the building, picking up what he needed as he went. Five years...and they still didn't know what was expected of them. The peace from the shadow brought on a whole different set of problems for them. Without it's influence they found themselves...with a lack of drive. No motivation to become involved in anything.

Mikey still wasn't himself, he had settled into a quiet depression that he just couldn't shake, or didn't want too. Even Leo didn't know at this point. He rarely did anything, just spent his days quietly sitting in their home watching as the others went about their business. Leo had tried everything to pull him from that funk, but just couldn't seem to reach him. Even in training, something Leo demanded they still kept up with, Mikey just seemed to go through the motions, his eyes and mind always seeming so distant, so far away.

Donnie had also changed. Once he lived, breathed, loved to invent new things. Always exploring the possibilities and potentials of any gadget that came into his hands, when he wasn't studying or researching something. Knowledge had been his love, the only thing he had held on to from his childhood. But once the lair had been sufficiently repaired and a security system set up, he just quit with it. Donnie would do just enough to make sure they had what they needed always in operational condition, but other than that he didn't do anything either anymore. He wasn't as bad as Mikey, but even there the motivation was gone. Leo had asked him about it once. "Because everything I have ever built has been tainted and corrupted." Was the quiet answer as Donnie turned away from him. "How can I even possibly make something new when all of my old inventions are out there...causing harm..."

Raph was the one who terrified him the most. Not because of his safety, but for Raph's. He had always been short tempered, even when they were kids, but it was to the point now that he would snap over the smallest thing. And when he did he lashed out at anyone, or thing, that happened to be near. Leo didn't know why he did what he did and again had no clue on how to help him. Leo was finding out that there was a lot of things he didn't know... The result being from that was where Donnie and Mikey would sit and mope in the main lair area, Raph rarely came out of his room.

He carried their burden heavily. He had forced them away from everything they knew, but was that life really any better? At least here they could show weakness, here they were free. Now if they could only shake these feelings they had. Feelings caused by everything they had been through. Leo wanted so much to take them far from here...but where could he take them? Where on this world could he possibly take them where they could live in peace, not having to live like this. Everyone knew about them, and what they had done, and they would be shunned from everyplace they would try to take refuge, if they weren't killed on sight. Their forced hiding was no doubt adding to their stress. Once they had all been free to roam at will, now they barely saw the light of day anymore.

It was pretty much a last ditch effort on Leo's part to try and help them, in some way, that made him force them out along with him on tonight's expedition. Hoping that this outing would give them some sense of normality. That and there was no way in hell he was going to carry all this shit back on his own.

"Here, hold this for me." He quietly told Mikey who had come in behind him. He handed Mikey a large cloth sack and his little brother quietly held it open for him as Leo placed the items he had gathered into it. Raph and Donnie were in another section, gathering up what fresh food they could in another part of the warehouse.

Mikey stayed close to Leo as he moved along, picking up items and placing them in the sack. He never strayed farther than a few feet away and his eyes darted around nervously and he jumped at every sound. He was like a mouse looking for the cat honestly. Leo just patiently led him on, distracting him when he seemed to get too nervous. As he did now. "Mikey look." Leo smiled as he held up a can of peaches. Something so rare here it was almost a delicacy. Anything sweet really was a delicacy, for the general population anyway. Shredder seemed to eat whatever he felt like and he had a large supply of whatever he wanted. The rest of the population had to make do with whatever he felt like giving them. "Think we can try to whip up some peach cobbler?" Leo asked him as he placed the can in the bag, peach cobbler had been one of his favorites as a child, and just got a disinterested shrug in reply.

Leo hid the sting at that rejection by turned back to the rows of cans in front of him. He was starting to rapidly lose hope that his brother would ever snap out of this. He was now just as quiet as Mikey as he kept moving along, kept filling the sack.

The sound of the main doors opening froze them both in their tracks, then they quickly hid up in the rafters.

"I will personally inspect the security measures." Came a very familiar voice then. "Because it seems you are unable to determine what precautions need to be made. I tire of these break in reports!"

"Yes, Master." Spencer's voice came up next.

Leo and Mikey stayed very still up in those rafters, barely even breathing. He could feel Mikey trembling next to him but Leo didn't want to risk his hold to try and calm him. He just hoped Mikey could control himself long enough.

Silently they hung there as Shredder and Spencer walked deeper into the warehouse. "This is unacceptable." Shredder growled as he looked around. "There is no reason for repeated break ins."

"Yes, Master." Spencer almost sighed this time, as if he'd heard the same complaint over and over again. Which he probably did.

They talked quietly as they moved on, but something else caught Leo's eyes. There was someone else in the warehouse, dressed head to toe in black, and by the way they were hiding and sneaking they didn't want the two walking individuals to know they were there.

Leo's instincts were blaring at him as he watched the figure inch it's way closer, and a chill ran up his spine when he figured out what the dark clad figure was going for, or should he say who. Was this person suicidal? He just stared as this moron moved in closer.

Now he was dealing with indecision as he quietly watched. Should he intervene? Should he just stay here? Was his life worth risking for someone dumb enough to try this? What if they had a chance to succeed? If he charged in now, would that chance to catch him off guard be wasted? But what if he didn't? Would he be able to live with himself if he just sat back and watched this fool lose their life?

Before he could answer any of those questions, the person below took the matter in their own hands. By now they were on top of a stack of crates directly above the ninja master, and pulled out a tanto. Then the idiot launched themself off of the crate towards Shredder.

He wouldn't be taken out so easily with such a clumsy approach however and turned and slapped the figure right out of the air and they hit the pile of crates with a loud groan. "What is this?" Shredder sneered as he stalked in on the dazed figure. "You _dare_ strike at me? That will cost you your life you fool!"

"Then so be it." Came a woman's voice. "At least I know I died trying to rid this world of your plague."

Shredder didn't answer her, but his blades came up to deliver that fatal strike.

Leo moved without thinking. Something just snapped inside him. He was dropping down before he could even rationalize his actions, he let his gut guide him and his gut was screaming at him to get her the hell out of there. He hit the ground, katana already out, and slapped that descending arm away from the prone woman. He then used that moment of shock his appearance caused to grab her and sling her over his shoulder. It was right about then that he noticed he was cornered between Shredder and the crates, and he didn't have time to maneuver up them as Shredder's eyes went from shocked, to very angry. "You!" He spat at Leo.

Leo didn't answer him, but he _was_ wondering how in the hell he was going to get out of here without being skewered. To make matters worse, the woman was struggling in his arms, obviously not wanting to be in this undignified position. "Be still." He calmly told her. "I won't hurt you." She had no reason to listen to him, but she did. She quit moving anyway.

"But I have every intention of hurting you!" Shredder roared as his arm came back up for another strike, one Leo knew he wasn't going to be able to dodge. He just met that glare with his own as all time seemed to stand still. Until a can of peaches came from above and clanged against the metal helmet before it broke open from the force of the throw.

"You leave him alone!" Mikey roared from above, now standing on the rafters and glaring down at Shredder. In his hand he had another can. "Time to turn you into what you really are! An oversized can opener!" And in came another can, of beans this time. That one too exploded on contact and the peaches and beans covered Shredder roared in fury as he glared up at Mikey.

Leo took that moment of inattention to literally go over Spencer and made a mad dash to the door. The rattling of cans above him told Leo that Mikey was on his way to the same exit. And the rage filled stomping of feet behind him told him that Shredder was following him. Until Leo ran past another stack of crates and they somehow fell over, and on top of the pursuing ninja Master. The reason for why became clear when Raph and Donnie came running out from behind it and joined Leo on the mad dash to the door.

Once outside they easily avoided the ninjas closing in, alerted by Shredder's anger filled screams, and quickly scrambled up to the roof. Then just as quickly ran across it and hopped over to another one, repeating the process until the warehouse had been left far behind them.

"What in the hell were you _thinking_!" Raph roared at him as Leo gently set the woman down on her feet once they were clear.

"I'm not so sure I was..." He mumbled in return as the woman pulled the ninja hood off of her head. He blinked a moment as he stared at her. She was so young, couldn't be much older than eighteen. Black hair framed Asian features and her brown eyes looked up at him with no fear in them. For some reason that alone caught his gaze as she calmly looked at him, then at his brothers. She wasn't scared, but he knew she should be.

"I am grateful for your timely assistance." She told them in a clear, firm voice before she turned back to the warehouse. "But I have been hired to complete this task, and I shall do so." And she began marching back the way they came.

"You will do no such thing." Leo told her firmly as he blocked her way, crossing his arms and glaring at her. "I didn't risk my life to drag you out of there just so you could go right back."

"This is the reason you blow our cover?" Raph fumed, his arm waving at the woman. "Shit if she wants to go back and end up on the edge of his blades, let her."

"No Raph." Leo firmly replied. "I won't let her. To many have died by his hand already, and I won't allow another one if I can stop it."

"You're not actually going to hold her here against her will are you?" Donnie asked him with a raised eyeridge.

His steady gaze didn't falter as he looked back at her. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I will." He replied, then turned his words to her. "I won't let you just throw your life away."

"I don't believe this shit." Raph muttered as he threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Since when do we care about what humans do up here!"

"Maybe it's time we should." Mikey spoke up quietly, shrinking away from Raph's angry glare. "How many others have tried to do what she did tonight, and failed."

"Quite a few." She solemnly replied. "But they keep being sent in, in the hope that one will get the strike in that will end this torment for all of us."

"Why?" Leo asked her. "You must know how futile those attempts are."

"Who else is there to take up the task?" She asked him in return. "We risk our lives because we wish for a better life here."

A better life... Isn't that what they all wanted? To live a life without Shredder hovering over them all with his iron fist? Leo just looked in those eyes and saw the determination in them, she would go back in again. She didn't care what he had to say about it, she would go back in and try again. Just because she felt the cause was right. She would willingly die to try for something they all wanted, and she shouldn't have too when there were four capable individuals standing here who were more suited to the task. Leo brought his eyes up and looked at the others.

"You have _got_ to be shitting me..." Raph stared back at him in shock as he took in that look.

"I'll do it." Mikey said then as he looked at Leo. "Maybe...maybe if we try, then our life will have some meaning again. Maybe I can have a reason to justify waking up every morning."

"You know..." Donnie said thoughtfully, his eyes lost in the distance. "I've had a couple of ideas I'd like to try out... Just to test Spencer and see how good he is on his own..."

Raph just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine... Someone is going to have to bail you idiots out of trouble. And I know you, you _are_ going to get into trouble."

Leo just smiled slightly as he turned back to her. "Tell who ever keeps sending you guys out to stop. No more will your clan risk it's life. We will take on that task." Then he turned from her and began to walk home.

"Someone else will have to send that message." She calmly replied as she fell into step beside him.

"What?" He stopped again and looked down at her. "Why can't you?"

"Because I am going to stay by your side."

"You most certainly are _not_." He sputtered back at her.

"Yes, I am." She told him. "You said you would not allow me to go back to finish my task, in order to make sure I don't then I must be with you at all times."

Leo just stared at her and Mikey chuckled. "She's got you there Leo."

"I'll tie you to a tree." Leo threatened.

"No, you will not. It would leave me vulnerable to his men if they happened to stumble across me."

Leo just glared at her and stomped off, and again she followed him. "Stop it!" He snapped. "You're not coming!"

"I will not and I shall join you."

"Why!" The by now utterly frustrated and confused Leo almost yelled at her.

"Because I owe you my life." She replied, not breaking her stride next to him. "For that alone I will indebt my life to you."

"You're serious..." Leo stopped again and stared at her.

"I am. I offer you my services to aid you in this matter, because I know even the former disciples of the warlord shall need help."

Leo rubbed his hand over his forehead. How did a simple run for food get so damn complicated? But he had to admit she was right. If they were going to do this, they were going to need help. "Fine." He finally gave in and didn't try to stop her as she once again followed him. "Do you have a name? Or do we call you stubborn ass bitch the whole time?" He grumbled then.

"You may call me Lotus."


	25. Chapter 25

It was almost dawn when they finally made it home, and Leo had to admit he was impressed with the way she was able to keep up with them. Leo had tried to quickly outdistance her, but that idea was quickly shot to shit when Mikey helped her along in those situations on the few times she actually needed help. He was about to snap at his little brother to stop it, but that froze on his lips when he saw how much helping her seemed to cheer him up. "The trick to this ledge is to make sure you have enough momentum to make it and then you..." Leo just shook his head as he lept off, followed right behind with Mikey and Lotus.

He didn't know why, but something about her made him nervous. She just followed them quietly, rarely talking, as they had walked along the tunnels. Not a word escaped her lips as Donnie opened the secret door to their home. Silent, she walked inside without even looking back. And Leo just stared at her, what was wrong with this girl?

"Don't you have a family to go back too?" Leo grumbled as he stepped in behind her.

"I do not." She replied as she looked around, her eyes taking everything in. "Shredder has seen to that."

That stung him and he quickly looked away, not wanting her to see the sudden pain in his eyes. Seems like they weren't the only ones who had been orphaned by him...

"This is where you reside?"

"Yup!" Mikey told her chippery. "Home sweet home!" He casually tossed his 'chucks to on the hooks by the entrance tunnel that usually held their weapons. "Come on, I'll show you the kitchen!"

Leo's jaw dropped as he watched a large smile plaster itself on Mikey's face. Lotus just nodded and followed him to their kitchen area. Leo watched them both in shock as they made their way to the space that served as their food preparation center. She looked over everything with a critical eye. "This set up is barely adequate." She looked at Donnie then. "Surely you could have done better than this? I would expect more from the disciple who was most feared for his technical expertise."

Donnie's face flushed a bit as he looked like a little kid being caught at something he shouldn't be doing. "Yeah...I kinda have been slacking the last few years." He mumbled as he dug his toe into the floor, trying to dig himself a hole to China to hide in probably. "I'll get started on some upgrades now..." He went to his room to grab the tools Leo had so painstakingly gathered for him, only to go largely unused. Again Leo just looked on in shock at the seemingly instant transformation. He just hung his katanas on their hooks, shaking his head.

Raph just glared at her, obviously not trusting her, before he just stomped off to his room. Shortly after the sound of the door slamming rang out into the lair.

She just calmly watched him go and didn't even flinch when he growled at her when Raph passed her. And once the door slammed she looked at Leo with a raised brow. "That temper is also well known." Was all she said before Mikey began demanding her attention as he pulled out a few battered pots and pans, obviously with the intent to start on breakfast.

Leo just sighed and sat on one of the old, run down recliners that came with the dwelling. He tiredly leaned back into it before resting his head into his hand, rubbing his brow. What on earth was he going to do with this woman? She obviously couldn't stay with them, it was too risky. He knew nothing of her, he shouldn't trust her to come into the security of their home...so why did he allow it?

Before he could answer his own thought the recliner finally gave out on him and he ended up in the middle of recliner pieces on the floor, much to Mikey's amusement as he cracked up laughing. He didn't know what shocked him more, the fact that he was sitting bewildered on the floor or that Mikey was laughing...

"This entire setup is barely adequate." Lotus sighed as she watched him get back up. "Surely you can come up with better furnishings than this?"

"Not like we can just go out and pick some up." Leo growled back at her as he moved to another chair, shaking this one to make sure it would hold him before he sat down in it.

"Hey Lotus! Watch what happens when I do this!" Mikey excitedly told her before he turned one of the burners on...and a column of flame shot up from it. "Cool huh?"

"Seems like it is very hot to me." She shook her head again. "How you have managed to survive this long baffles me..."

"Sorry our accommodations don't meet your expectations." Leo rolled his eyes at her. "We just do the best we can."

"It is not that the accommodations are below my expectations, it is the fact that you seem to have given up on trying to better your situation." She calmly replied as she took a extinguisher to Mikey's little fire sculpture. One that actually seemed to work. For some reason she seemed shocked by that. "A home isn't truly a home if you do not make the effort to make it one, and it is definitely not one if everything you encounter inside that dwelling has the potential to cause harm." As if to prove her point, the oven let out a large belch of smoke. She just rolled her eyes as she waved the smoke out of her face.

"Aw man! The biscuits I was trying to make are ruined now..." Mikey's face fell back into that hopeless despair that had been following him the last five years now. "Everything I touch gets ruined..." He sighed as he turned away from the kitchen, clearly intending to give up on the whole idea.

Lotus just reached out a hand to stop him, placing it on his arm. "I shall help you." She told him simply as Donnie came back with his tool box. "Just as soon as Donatello makes it safe to do so." She raised a brow. "I do not wish to add myself to the menu by accident."

For some reason that made Mikey crack up and even Donnie smiled. "Let's see if we can keep that from happening." Donnie told her as he began to take the stove apart.

Leo just sat in that chair, that still held him up, crossed his arms...and glared at her. She knew it too, and completely ignored that hostile look as she and Mikey worked around Donnie and managed to fix a decent breakfast. Leo did have to admit that the smells coming from that kitchen, once the smoke had cleared out, was making his stomach rumble.

He just watched as Lotus puttered around in the kitchen with his brothers, even as pissed as he was by the fact that she had pretty much bullied her way here, he was still awed at the changes that were taking place in front of him. Mikey was talking easily to her, like he had known her all of his life. And despite her formal tone, she easily managed to keep a smile on his face. Even Donnie was humming quietly to himself as he worked and soon he had the stove and oven running to the point Lotus wouldn't have to worry about burning her pretty hair off. Her pretty, long black hair... Now where had _that_ thought come from?

"Breakfast!" Mikey hollered soon after, his grin wide as he looked over the meal he was able to throw together.

Lotus looked around, her expression unapproving. "Do you not have a place to sit and eat a decent meal?"

"Yeah." Mikey told her as he waved a hand out towards the living room. "Find a spot, sit down and eat."

"Unacceptable." She muttered and Leo rolled his eyes.

"And what would you suggest?" He asked her. "We just eat standing up?"

She didn't answer him, but searched for something as her eyes roamed the space. Then she apparently found what she was looking for and walked over to a table sitting in the corner that served as Donnie's junk holder. Without even batting an eye, she dumped all of his crap to the floor and pushed the table closer to the kitchen, then began scrounging up various chairs and drug them over to the table as well. Then she washed it all down, wrinkling her delicate nose in disgust at the only, filthy, rag she could find. Then she set the table. "This is how a family should eat their meals together." She finally said as Mikey began to bring the food over to it.

Again Leo just blinked his eyes in shock, wasn't really expecting that either. But he did follow her hand as she pointed to one of the chairs. "Sit." What the hell was he? A damn dog? Did she think she could just come in here and boss him around in his own home? Who did she think she was? "Now, before the food grows cold." She glared at him. Ok...he sat.

Mikey had disappeared down the hallway to knock on Raph's door. "What!" Leo heard snap through the door even from here.

Mikey just sighed as he carefully opened the door and poked his head in. "I made breakfast..." He tentatively said. "I made you some fresh biscuits...you used to like my biscuits when we were kids..."

Silence was his answer for his efforts and Mikey sadly turned away from the room, closing the door back behind him. He stopped and turned back in shock when the door opened again behind him. "You...you made...biscuits?" Raph asked quietly from the doorway. "You haven't cooked...in a long time... Did you put that honey glaze on them?" He then asked hopefully. Mikey grinned and nodded and Raph came out of his room.

Again Leo had to pick his jaw up off of the floor. Raph usually didn't come out more than once a day...if even that... Now he walking back down the hall with Mikey, his eyes glued to that pile of biscuits on the table, still steaming a little after being removed from the oven. He turned his stare at this strange young woman, and noticed that she watched them with a small, knowing, smile as she sat down at the table.

It was a bit awkward, them all sitting down together when they were so used to just grabbing their food and heading off to the different parts of the lair, but it felt...nice...being gathered around for this simple meal laid out in front of them. Leo ate quietly, just watching as his brothers interacted with each other at the table.

"I missed these..." Raph quietly admitted, then shoved a whole biscuit in his mouth. "Jusht ash gwood ash Ah wemumber." He told them through his mouthful.

"Dude...we seriously need to work on your table manners." Mikey rolled his eyes, then gave his brother a smile as he put another one on his plate.

"This from the one who used to catapult his scrambled eggs across the table with his spoon." Donnie told him dryly.

"You mean like this?" Mikey then catapulted his scrambled eggs across the table, and they hit Donnie's glasses with a splat.

Donnie of course promptly retaliated by smearing butter onto his little brother's face.

Leo facepalmed as Raph moved in to save the biscuits from the ensuing food fight. It was when he got a faceful of jelly that he finally stopped the whole messy mess. "Enough already!" He snapped, wiping the gooey gunk off. "It's hard enough to get food, I really don't want to go back out again to restock because you two feel like learning ninfoodsu."

Lotus was just looking at them all amused as she chewed her food with dignity, then laughed a gentle laugh. "It seems the deadly disciples are not as grim as all the stories make them out to be."

"Maybe it's because we had no reason to laugh." Leo quietly told her. "Humor wasn't allowed."

She just nodded and they finished their meal without any more flying food bits. Then they just sat at the table, quietly talking. It was when Mikey let out a huge yawn that made Leo get up from the table. "Go to bed Mikey." He told his little brother, taking in the weary face as he gathered up the dirty dishes. "It's been a long night for you."

He just nodded and got up before wearily trudging down the hallway. "I think I'll go down for a bit too." Donnie said, hiding his own yawn. "Not used to those excursions anymore."

"Yeah, well, you better get back into shape." Raph told him as he stood up himself. "Seems like we might need both of ya in top form pretty soon."

"Oh...like you haven't been slacking." Donnie quipped back.

"Pfft...I never slack." Raph told him, then gathered up the rest of the biscuits and disappeared in his bedroom with them, with Donnie chuckling as he retreated to his.

Leo had a soft smile on his face as he began to clean the dishes. That had been an unusual meal for them, a welcome change but unusual all the same. He finished with the first plate and looked over in shock when Lotus took it out of his hand and proceeded to rinse it for him before placing it to dry in the dishrack. "Why the startlement?" She asked him. "If I am to live here, it is only fair that I carry my share of the duties."

"I think you've done enough." He told her. "I owe you a thanks. I haven't...had a meal like that in longer than I can conveniently remember."

"None are needed. I owe you far more than one simple meal."

"That was more than just a simple meal." He told her quietly. "I don't think you fully understand..."

"I understand what I see." She replied simply. "And I see four brothers who are struggling to figure out how to live. Four separate souls when this should be a single family unit."

He sighed as he raised another now clean plate up out of the soapy water, and had it also taken from his hand. "I'm not so sure we even know how to live like that anymore."

"Then it would be my pleasure to teach you. Leonardo, even one as inexperienced as I can see the troubles they are having. Though I am glad to see the rumors of you leaving him are indeed true, I must admit it pains me to see the pain in all of you." Then she looked up directly at him. "Especially you. You carry your burden along with theirs."

"My burden doesn't need to concern you." He told her, a bit more sharply than he had intended and there was an awkward silence between them as they finished the dishes. Not even he could fully let go of his old ways and he regretted his sharp tongue now towards her. She didn't really do anything to deserve that. "Maybe you should rethink this." He told her as he washed the last pan. "You are right, we all carry our own scars. I just don't want to see you get hurt while we try to figure out how to live with them."

"No." Came the firm reply. "I will stay."

For reasons he couldn't explain, that made him feel better as he dried his hands. "Come with me." He told her then. "I'll show you where you can rest."

"I do not need it." He rolled his eyes, how did he know she was going to say that?

"Yes, you do." He glared at her. "Don't try me Lotus. You are under my care now and I have ways of making you sleep if you really want to go there."

"I am sure you do." She sighed her own sigh then. "Very well, Master."

He stopped, shocked, in the act of leading her to his room and turned back to her. "Why did you call me that?"

She just shrugged. "Because it is now true. I will follow you, and I assume you will wish to continue my training to make sure I stay in top form. Thus, you are now my Master."

Leo just groaned as he led her to his room, he really didn't feel like dealing with this right now...


	26. Chapter 26

Leo woke up later that day, sneezing his damn head off. He sat up on the rundown couch he had been sleeping on and looked around for the cause of his current ailment. Lotus was dusting. She seemed oblivious to the fact that the fine particles would waft up into a cloud before it would settle down back onto the areas she had already cleaned. Then she would just go back and dust what she just dusted, and Leo kept sneezing.

"What are you-Achoo!- _doing?"_ He snapped at her.

"Cleaning." She replied. "Apparently how to cleanse anything has been left out of your education. I refuse to live in such filth."

"It worked just fine for us." He grumbled. Achoo!

"But it will not work fine for me." She snapped back. "It will be cleaned." She found another dirt spot and another cloud drifted over to Leo's sensitive nose. Achoo!

Grumbling Leo stood up and went to the bathroom, and when he came back it was an entire dust thunderstorm as she was beating out all of the couch and easy chair cushions. Achoo! God! Would she just quit!

"Seems like I better get to work fixing the ventilation systems..." Donnie sighed as he came out to see what all the sneezing was about. "Or she's going to suffocate us in clouds of dust." Not hearing him, she gave the cushion a good whack and another large puff of dust came out. Leo sneezed hard enough to knock his mask lopsided that time.

Leo just grumbled under his breath as he went to the kitchen area, and stopped stunned. The entire place was spotless. The old worn out sink had been scrubbed until Leo was sure she rubbed off the old age of it and reverted it back to new. Their rickety stove, which had shown years worth of smoke stains, and more than a few fires, gleamed in the kitchen lights. She had even found a way to mop the floor for crying out loud! What on earth did she use to mop it with? He knew they didn't have one... That was when he found one of his pillowcases, now torn into mopping sized rags and draped over a rope converted to clothesline to dry. He just stared at them, he lets her sleep in his room one time and she's tearing his shit apart...

"Lotus!" He roared at her, his eyes blazing as he turned towards her.

"Yes Master?" She calmly replied, even as she sent another puff of dust into the air. "This will just not do." She muttered. "New items are required, I fear these are beyond saving."

"Why are you tearing up my shit!"

"Because I had nothing else to clean with." She apparently gave up with the couch, then moved on to sweeping the floor. Which of course caused even more crap to be thrown up into the air and Leo's sneezing started all over again. "The fault is not mine if you have no cleaning supplies." It was then that Leo noticed that she had made a makeshift broom, out of the feathers from his pillow... He facepalmed.

"Do you know how long it took me to find that pillow?" He fumed. "It took me weeks!"

"And yet you could not spare the effort to find a decent broom?" She just kept sweeping along...oblivious to his rising anger, and his sneezing. Achoo!

"Never needed one!"

"Well, you do now." Sweep, sweep. Achoo! "Please tell me, how long will it take you and your brothers to get ready for a trip to the surface?"

"Say what..." He said flatly.

"I wish to go to the surface." She told him as she finally leaned the broom against the wall.

"For what?"

"I know where to find decent furniture, but I will need assistance to bring it all here."

"What's wrong with what we have?"

She just looked at him steadily a moment, then slammed her fist against the couch cushion and another puff of dust came out of it and headed towards him...sending him into another sneezing fit. "That." She replied. "And also the fact that these items are not going to last much longer." She pointed to the recliner that had given out under Leo earlier.

Leo just glared at her. They were _not_ going topside just so she could go furniture shopping! He crossed his arms and told her that too.

Four hours later they were breaking into another warehouse, this one full of furniture and again one of Shredder's. Hey, his goons needed furniture too, not to mention the man himself. Leo stood guard, seriously rethinking this whole Lotus ordeal. She was a pain in his ass! Even as he surveyed the area, Mikey and Donnie were loading up a couch into a stolen delivery van, and Raph was coming out, looking a little sheepish, carrying a few lamps with one lampshade on his head. "Why on earth do you have that on your head?" Leo asked him.

"Ran out of arms and hands to carry it with." He snarled back. "You got a problem with that?"

Leo wisely kept his trap shut.

He impatiently waited as they they went back in, and came back out. So far she had them bring out the couch, recliners, a decent dining table and sturdy chairs, desks, beds, end tables and nightstands and a whole bunch of other crap. She even managed to scrounge up some decent area rugs and new cookware and dining sets. Where was she finding all of this crap? Then came the bedsheets, new pillows, blankets, comforters...and cleaning supplies. At least she wouldn't be tearing his stuff up anymore to clean with now he supposed. Leo took a quick look in the back of the van and groaned. It was jam packed full of stuff. Apparently Lotus wanted to make sure they had new everything. Even as irritated as he was, he was suddenly struck with the thoughtfulness she gave all of this. Nothing seemed to escape her notice if it was needed.

She came out then, carrying a few items in her arms, and looked into his surly face. "I believe I have gathered all that is required." She ignored his irritated snort. "We may leave now."

" _So_ glad we have your permission to do so." He mumbled as he turned to his brothers. "Load up, it's time to go."

Once safely home, they spent the next few hours unloading the van, then ditching it with all of their old crap in it, before Lotus finished the cleaning job she had started. Then the furniture placing began. The dining table was easy, there was only one decent spot to put it. She carefully chose an area rug and rolled it out, making sure it was placed perfectly before the table and chairs were even allowed near it.

Then came the seemingly endless "move this here, no it would look better there, then again..." Leo was about ready to scream by the time she was satisfied. "It's good enough!" He finally snapped after moving the couch around the fifth time.

"Very well." She agreed before pushing a coffee table into place, then followed that with the endtables and lamps. A large, light blue area rug was already spread out on the floor in front of it. Mikey then pushed the recliners and easy chairs into place, then he tiredly plopped down into one.

"Are all women like this?" He asked. "I'm more tired from this than spending hours training."

"I wouldn't know." Leo sarcastically told him. "I don't know all women, but this one is about to drive me nuts!"

Lotus had already moved on to her next project, taking Raph and Donnie with her. Leo took the quiet few moments he was allowed to have and looked around at everything. "I do have to admit...it does look alot better in here." He quietly said as the soft glow from the two lamps on either side of the couch let out a soft light, illuminating a space that was now warm, inviting. An area he was actually proud to call his home. The furniture she picked was large, comfortable and more than sturdy enough to hold their large frames. And Leo found himself surrounded with color. The light blue area rug was the center piece to a red couch and matching loveseat. The lamps on the endtables had the same soft blue as the rug, but mixed with white in a floral pattern. Mikey lounged in one of the beige easy chairs that matched the recliners. The light stained coffee table and matching end tables finished off the whole set.

"That it does." Mikey quietly agreed as he looked around himself.

Leo looked around the room again, with clear eyes now that his irritation had calmed down. All the effort she had put into all of this, he wanted to repay it somehow. "Mind helping me with something?" He asked Mikey.

"Which would be what?"

"We have that extra room down at the end of the hall. Lotus already cleaned it out earlier today, probably with the intent to move into it. I'd like to get her room set up for her."

Mikey just nodded and followed Leo who went to go retrieve one of the beds that had been leaned against the wall, obviously hers since she insisted that the other frames and mattresses be moved into their rooms. Then they went back for the dressers and sheets. Leo and Mikey spent the next few minutes moving the furniture in, and even made her bed for her. A pale pink comforter thrown over plain white sheets definitely added to the feminism in the room. Then Mikey came in with a few smaller area rugs that were left over in "her" pile of stuff and placed them around the room while Leo found her lamp that matched the comforter, then turned it on for her.

"You did not have to do that." She quietly said from the doorway. "I was not going to ask for your help."

"And why not?" Leo asked her.

"I have already strained your patience enough today. I did not want to anger you any further."

It was at that point Leo swallowed his pride. She did what she did to improve their quality of life. She had transformed the rundown shit hole they had been living in into something clean and warm. And he had been an ass to her the whole time for it. "I'm sorry for that Lotus... It's just... I'm not used to others doing anything good for us. It wouldn't be fair for us to repay your thoughtfulness by making you push your own bed all the way back here."

"Then, you are not upset with me?" Her eyes met his.

He sighed in defeat then. "No, I'm not. It's just you take some getting used to Lotus. You came barging into our quiet lives like a comet and immediately starting to change things. It's a big thing to deal with for a turtle who has a hard time dealing with change. It took a little for it to sink in, but I'm glad you are here now."

She blushed a little at the compliment. "If change troubles you so much, maybe I should keep my future ideas quiet."

"No." Leo told her. "Don't. I have no objections to what you've done so far. If you are going to live with us, then you are entitled to your opinions and ideas just as the rest of us."

"May I make one small request then?"

"What?"

"Can I have an escort? To go to the surface again?"

"But...we just got _back_..."

"I understand that Master, but I didn't want to ask earlier. I need more clothing items, I have nothing besides what I wear now."

"She's got a point Leo." Mikey told him as he sat on her bed. "She's going to start stinking the place out soon if we don't get her into something clean."

Leo sighed. "I'll take her. I guess it's kinda my fault she was too scared to ask earlier."

So once again Leo found himself topside with her, this time hunting for clothing. Here they had to be more careful because the closest place they could raid was an active laundromat that laundered the clothes and uniforms of those who worked for Shredder. You had to admit, as much as a tyrant as the man is, his operation ran almost perfectly. Every function, every need was met by him. He may be cruel, but even he understood that at least the basic needs of his followers had to be met. It also made it easy for them to get what they needed without hurting the general population. Why steal from them when Shredder provided everything they need? You just had to be careful enough to get it.

Leo kept a careful eye on the attendants out front while Lotus hurriedly gathered up everything she could find that fit her. Twenty minutes later they were already on the way back, with Leo carrying about five or six laundry bags of clothes for her. He felt like a damn pack mule, but he kept his complaints to himself.

They entered the lair just as Donnie was coining out of the hallway and placed his tools on the counter in the kitchen area. "I just fixed the water pressure problem in the bathroom. Might even get a shower that actually gets the dirt off now."

"That does indeed sound lovely..." Lotus sighed and Donnie laughed.

"Go ahead, you get first dibs." He winked at her as Leo carried the bags to her room.

She dug some stuff out of the bags and did just that. Almost as soon as the door closed behind her the water came on. Leo just chuckled slightly as he went back to the kitchen area. Donnie had by then put his tools away and had disappeared to his room, and the other two were also probably already in bed. The lair was quiet as Leo brewed himself a cup of tea. He was still a bit wound up and was hoping the hot drink would help him settle down. Then he took that steaming cup and sat at the new dining table, careful not to get any rings on it. He didn't think Lotus would like that too much.

As if that thought summoned her, the bathroom door opened and she emerged, and Leo almost spit his tea out all over the table. She didn't hear him as she made her way to her room, and he was grateful for that. Because he wouldn't know how to explain the stare he was giving her. Her wet hair was up in a loose bun, with a few strands hanging loosely around her face, and she was wrapped in a pale pink silk robe as she walked barefoot to her room. The effect that color had on him...he couldn't explain it. He was so used to seeing her in that black ninja garb that he really wasn't prepared for how beautiful she looked in that softer color. His eyes followed her until she disappeared behind her door, and then he stared at the door, for a long time. "What the hell is wrong with me..." He muttered then before he downed his now cooled tea. He didn't even try to figure it out, he just went to bed.


	27. Chapter 27

It took time, but Lotus was finally satisfied with the way they were living. After badgering the hell out of Donnie to fix numerous things anyway. After the shower came the furnace, hot water heater and a few other things. None of it was to her standards and she had Donnie working quite a bit. "Not even Shredder used to boss me around this bad." He grumbled to Leo one day as Donnie was sent, once again, to fix an inadequate functioning appliance. Leo saw through the grumbling and found the smile he was trying to hide. He had lost his love for tinkering, and she was slowly bringing it back out. He not only knew that from the fixed appliances, but because he upgraded them to work even better. And Donnie did it all while humming quietly to himself. After awhile, Lotus didn't have to pester him relentlessly anymore, he began fixing and improving things on his own, and even started some new projects. In a few weeks, and numerous outings, he had even set himself up a new lab, stocking it with everything he could get his hands on. It didn't quite compare to what he had left behind, but it came close.

Lotus just watched him work, with that small, knowing smile on her face. Then she went to work on Mikey. The youngest was a bit more of a challenge for her, and again Leo watched in quiet amazement as she rose up to it. Where she bullied Donnie, she was patient with Mikey. He wasn't as down any more as he was, but he still had a lot of work ahead of him. His confidence had been shattered between the years of abuse from their former Master and the tests Bishop had subjected him too. often Leo had caught him looking around with those dead, unseeing eyes and Knew his little brother had lost the will to live really. It tore at his heart, somehow knowing that because the only reason he was still here was because he didn't want to make that final journey alone. Where Leo had watched, sad and confused, not knowing how to help him, she met that depression with a patient determination.

Every morning she would barge into his room, and begin to clean it. Throwing the depressed Mikey out of bed so she could make it. "Lotus!" Leo heard him grumble. "Can't you let me sleep in just once!"

"No." She replied, even as she yanked the covers off of him. "The room needs to be cleaned and you are in my way."

"But you cleaned it yesterday!"

"And I shall clean it again today."

"Lotus!"

"Shall I have Master Leonardo come and roll you onto the floor?"

Grumbling he got up and stomped out of the room.

Again with that smile on her face she would come out a few minutes later and corner him as he sat and pouted in one of the new recliners. "So? What shall we prepare today for the morning meal?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Is a shame then, I was going to try my hand at making peach cobbler later. But I have not tried making it before, I may ruin the dish." She then turned towards the kitchen, even as Mikey's blue eyes brightened.

Leo was amazed on how quick he got out of that chair to help her.

Over the course of weeks he watched as those two changed, baffled on how she did it. They weren't as bubbly and chatty as when they were kids, but they both took an interest again in what they used too. Even in the dojo, that Lotus also insisted they upgrade, Leo was able to see a new fire in Mikey's eyes as he started to try again and not just go along with the movements.

But there was one even she couldn't reach, and she tried. Raph still closeted himself in his room. His snarling distrust for her had changed to a grumpy disgruntlement that she kept trying to draw him out of it. She was even literally pushed out of his room once, gently, and had the door slammed into her face, and after that he began locking it. She just stood there, looking thoughtful before she quietly walked away.

After a few weeks they had pretty much grown into a routine. Lotus had by then fully established herself in their life and it was difficult for Leo to look back on the times when she wasn't there. Just because those times were so much darker compared to now. It took him a while to admit it, but overall they were happier now with her presence. Even if she was a hardheaded bully.

"Do we really need to go out _again_?" Leo asked her frustrated as he polished his katana while sitting on the couch. They had been going out every day this week, always because she came up with something that absolutely _had_ to be done, or was needed. He was starting to miss the quiet evenings at home honestly.

"I am out of personal hygiene items." She calmly replied as she put away the freshly washed supper dishes. "Those that work for you does not give me the same results and I do not wish to use them."

"You didn't know that yesterday when we went out?" He asked her with a raised eyeridge.

"It slipped my mind."

Leo just glared at her as she looked back at him in wide eyed innocence. He just sighed as he sheathed his katana, he knew she was going to get her way no matter what he had to say about it. Sometimes he wondered who the real leader was now around here. "Fine..."

Mikey's face immediately brightened at the thought of going topside again and he scrambled from his now favorite easy chair to go round up Donnie and Raph.

So once again they were skirting over the rooftops, just because Leo couldn't resist the brown puppy dog eyes she threw at him. And if he did resist them she'd just annoy the hell out of him until he finally gave in.

Tonight though wasn't going to be one of those quick out and ins they found out very quickly. They were about halfway to their destination when a woman's terrified screams reached his ears, along with the sounds of crying children and a man yelling. He skidded to a stop on the rooftop, trying to pinpoint the sounds, before dashing in that direction with the others following close behind him.

Leo found the source of the commotion fairly easy and quickly, and stopped on the edge of the rooftop as he watched for a moment. It was a scene he had seen so many times in his life. A family being drug from their home and out onto the street by ninjas. More than likely one parent, or both, had said something they shouldn't have and it was carried back to ears who weren't meant to hear it and the whole family had been ordered executed. Right out in the middle of the street for others to bear witness and remind them what happens when you go against the tyrant who ruled here. He knew this so well because he used to do it himself, even took pleasure from it. Now he looked on with another set of eyes as he watched the scene down below. His light brown eyes flashed as a ninja raised his katana, his intent to slay a teenage girl who was trying to shield her little brother as her parents were forced to watch in horror. That blade never made it to it's intended target.

Without even thinking, Leo had launched himself off of the side of the building and into the middle of that group. his lips snarling as his blades lashed out at the dark clad figures he used to lead. His blades now protecting the innocents they used to slay.

And he wasn't alone. His brothers and Lotus had joined him in this fight. It was over in a matter of minutes and Leo suddenly was face to face with a family who full well knew who he was, and shook in fear in front of him. All except the little boy. He was only about seven or so Leo guessed, but he wasn't at all afraid as he pulled away from his older sister. Leo was about to turn away from him, not wanting to alarm the parents any further, but Lotus held onto his arm, stopping him so the boy could approach. "I heard of you." The child told him, his head tilted curiously. "Never got to see ya before, but I heard stories. Stories said you was bad."

Leo didn't know what to do. He looked at his brothers and found no help there and his gaze went to Lotus, trying to figure out why in the hell she was making him stand here. What did she expect from him? "Answer the child." Was all she said.

"At one time I was." He quietly told the child.

The boy just gave him that same, penetrating look. "But you isn't anymore?" His parents and sister were still watching, wide eyed, no doubt in fear for their youngest member.

"I would like to believe that I'm not." Leo raised his eyes to the family. "Even if others don't."

"Ya gonna fight against him now? Ya gonna help folks like us?"

Leo blinked. Sure they had talked about it that night when Lotus joined them...but actually doing that... "I...I don't know..."

"If ya don't know, why ya help us?"

"Because it was...right to...do so."

The boy nodded not taking his eyes off of the large turtle. "But others need help too. Wouldnta it be right to help dem?"

"I suppose it would be."

"Den you gots to help dem too. Not fair just helpin' us and let dem all get hurt."

"I...I'm not so sure..."

"Please." The child had tears in his eyes then. "Adam useta be a good buddy of mine... Played with him a lot. Den dey came and I...don't see him anymore..." The tears spilled out of his eyes then. "Dey made him go away, like dey was gonna make us go away. I miss him..."

Leo looked at the crying child, his eyes tearing up at the grief one so young had to bear. Without even thinking about it he knelt down in front of the little boy and placed a hand on that small shoulder. The brown eyes that looked back at him, begged, pleaded, for someone to at least try and stop the suffering all around them. Leo knew in his heart what the right answer was here, and he let his heart speak without the conflicting thoughts in his head interfering for once. "I promise you, from here on out I will do what I can."

He looked back at the turtle, a slight shimmer of hope in his eyes before Leo suddenly found the child's arms around his neck. Stunned Leo looked down at the boy who was now crying against him, his sobs tearing into Leo's heart as he gently brought his arms around the boy.

"Not all see you as you used to be Master." Lotus told him as he held the child close. "There are some who see what you could be, if you allow yourself to try for it." She then walked over to the stunned parents. "Gather what you will need. I know a safe place for you to go, but you must travel to the old railhead. Once there, they will keep you from harm."

"But, that's on the other side of town." The mother said. "There's no way we will get there without getting caught."

"Yes, there is." Leo told her firmly, even as he still held the boy. "We will take you there."

Again he was met with shocked looks, but they quickly ran inside of their dwelling at Lotus' urgent prompting. By the time they came back out with a few small bags Leo was back on his feet with his hand still on the boy's shoulder. He now this new life he led didn't mean a damn thing if others out here continued to suffer. He looked down at the boy who looked back up at him with a smile. He wanted the life his counterparts led, now it was time he earned it and hiding away wasn't going to help anyone here. He was tired of hiding, tired of running. Now, after five years, it was time to fight back.


	28. Chapter 28

"Go!" Leo shouted and Lotus sprung up onto his shoulders, leapt again and flew over the heads of the ninjas in front of them before she came back down, her legs taking out two in a split kick before she lightly hit the ground. Then she took off running, her long black hair flying loose behind her.

Her target was the locomotive in the railhead, now beginning to pull a train load of unwilling passengers heading for one of Shredder's prison camps. She had to get to it, simply because she refused to let it get away. With ease that came from doing this numerous times over the last four years, she nimbly sprang onto the lumbering machine. The efforts of subduing the engineers however were getting harder, because they were increasingly more well protected than the first few times. This time Lotus was in for a cruel surprise, Hun himself was with this train. Her eyes widened as she barely managed to duck the swing he aimed at her head. And she was quickly tackled by the ninjas he had with him.

"How did I know you were going to try for this train tonight?" He smirked as he stalked in.

"I would assume it would be because we have stopped every other train you have tried to send away this week." She replied as she was drug to her feet.

"Smart mouthed bitch aren't you?"

"If you wish to believe so. Then again, it would seem that way to one with as little intelligence as you."

He dumb stare he gave her pretty much proved her point as he tried to puzzle out what she just said. "Did you just insult me? Did she just insult me?" He then asked one of the ninjas, who just nodded with a quiet sigh. "You bitch!" His fist came up to hit her, but she just calmly stared back at him. She wasn't as defenseless as she seemed to be and she had faith in the ones she served.

And it was well placed when a green hand wrapped around that descending wrist before Hun found himself flying out of the locomotive. Raphael then glared at the ninjas holding her and growled, and they quickly released her. He beat the crap out of them and threw them off of the train anyway. Gave him something to do while Lotus kindly persuaded the engineer, with a tanto to his throat, to stop the train.

Then both of them quickly exited the train and ran back alongside it to find the others already releasing the captives. "This way!" Mikey shouted as he grabbed the hand of a woman and began to lead them away.

The efforts on the part of the four turtles the last four years was starting to show, in small ways. Rumors began to be whispered across the city of the former disciples who now stood firmly against their former master. Risking their lives numerous times to free captives, like tonight, take out supply depots, training camps, supply convoys. If it benefitted him in any way, the turtles took it out. And Shredder was getting desperate it seemed if he brought Hun back here to guard the train, not that it helped him any. The turtles may not be well liked, for obvious reasons, but the people have learned that if they showed, their chances towards freedom increased. So though the turtles were still hated in many eyes, they were no longer feared. The end result was now that whenever they showed up they weren't met with fear, but hope. No longer were precious moments wasted as the ones they aided gawked at them in fear before it sank in that they were helping, not harming.

Leo grabbed Lotus' hand as he began to follow his brothers and hostages and practically drug her along. And for a moment she had to fight the giddy sensation of feeling his warm hand around her own.

She had fallen for him quickly, seeing something buried within him that he had at the time refused to show. She knew all of the roughness and irritation he had shown her at the beginning was just from frustration and easily saw past it. All of them carried their own pain and the weight of what they had done heavily. They couldn't move on from a past that firmly stood in their way. Two she had broke through their wall fairly easily, they just had to be reminded of what they loved. The other two still gave her headaches.

But Leonardo, he was different to her. She had followed him at first out of simple gratitude for him saving her life, but now... She had other reasons to follow him. She didn't fall into that false trap of "Oh! He saved my life! Let me fall for him!" She had befriended them at first, even Raphael finally came around to her...somewhat... Shown them that there was more to this life than hiding away from the world. Had gently prodded them to the point where they quit living with who they once were, and started living like who they are now. She had sensed the need in them, even if they couldn't. The need to prove to themselves that they have indeed changed. And during all of these missions, rescue attempts and sabotages, she grew to respect her master more, and eventually that grew into something else.

It had snuck up on her so she didn't even notice at first. Her heart would flutter when he would stand close to her during training, and it skipped a beat when he positioned himself behind her to guide her hands in the right positions on weapons. She would break out in chills when he sent one of his rare smiles her way. And her spirits soared whenever he entered the same room she was in. She was confused herself over it all, until one night she caught herself lying in bed, unable to sleep, and was wondering what his arms around her would feel like. It was then that it fully hit her, hard...she loved him...

Now she faced a new dilemma. Should she tell him how she felt? She really didn't want to do that either, because as far as she could tell, he didn't feel the same way towards her. If she admitted this to him...would he turn her away? Would he reject her? Would she be able to handle it if he did? No, she would not put that emotional burden out there, he had enough to deal with without her adding her girlish infatuations to the mix.

"Pay attention!" He snapped at her. "What has gotten into you lately..." He then mumbled, shooting her a quick look.

"Yes, my Master." She told him as she struggled to bring her mind back to the task ahead of them, flushing a little with embarrassment.

He kept eyeballing her, but didn't say anything else. He didn't have time too as they were all suddenly cut off from their escape route. Spencer stood there, and he wasn't alone as ninjas seemed to drop in from nowhere around him. "Going somewhere?" He smirked at them. "You have become very predictable. Should have stayed with the Master, your thinking is getting sloppy."

"Is it now?" Donnie asked with a slight smile. "I do believe it's you who are getting overconfident." Then he winked at Lotus.

There was a reason for the smile and wink. Lotus did not just hang out with the turtles these past four years. Once a certain trust level had been established with her, and after a few missions were growing increasingly harder, she began to leave the lair on her own. She had spent hours out, sometimes a day or two at a time, to reconnect with her old contacts. Painstakingly she had began to work on something with them.

It started with the small group at the old railhead, who saw first hand as the turtles escorted that first family to them. Those few rebels quickly agreed to what she was wanting to do, but they alone weren't enough. Slowly the word began to spread in the underground world that she was looking for fighters. Fighters who were tired of this and who could put aside their dislike for what the turtles had done. Fighters who were willing to stand with them now. They came slowly, singles and in pairs, but over time her little group grew. The turtles themselves seemed shocked that anyone would be willing to follow them, but overcame that shock enough to begin training them as well, not wanting to bring them into this fight without the skills to be able to fight it.

They had been hidden just as well as the turtles, they had been trained, and finally the time had come for them to be put to the test. Once Donatello realized what exactly they were going to be up against tonight, he had Lotus call them in. And now Lotus gave Donnie a quick, understanding nod before she let out a very shrill whistle.

Where Spencer's came from above, her's came from below as suddenly numerous holes began to appear in the ground around Spencer, and Ninjas came popping up out of them. Spencer gaped assuddenly he found a force equaly matching his own beginning to tear into them. Each recruit had lost a family member to this cruel man and his master, and they now fought with their own quit fury because of it.

The turtles didn't just leave the fight to them however, without even hesitating they joined in along with Lotus. It was during these skirmishes that Lotus could fully see how far they have all came from the battered emotionally scarred brothers she had first met. Eyes held determination as they plowed a way open for these poor souls who had been on that train.

Once Mikey hadn't even wanted to fight anymore, he just wanted to spend his days in hiding. Now he was moving rapidly among their ninjas, his weapons spinning around him with ease. Donnie hadn't wanted to build anything anymore, now he gave Spencer an devilish grin as he hit a button, and a wall blew off of the side of the building nearby, knocking Spencer over, and a vehicle came rolling out, running over any of Spencer's men who weren't quick enough to get out of the way. Then he pulled out a remote and began to happily mow over some more. Leonardo fought as he always did, quick, sure and protecting the ones who found themselves struggling in this fight. Lotus knew later he would pull those aside and work with them privately to help them better themselves. Raphael just...fought.

That one still concerned Lotus. He was still so reclusive and when he did come out on these trips, he frequently lost control and his anger overwhelmed him. And she couldn't really even place _why_ he was so angry. it had gotten to the point that Leo had considered numerous times to just leave him behind because he was so hard to snap out of those flare ups.

And tonight it happened again. Spencer and his men had been defeated and had either fled or were on the ground, and Raphael had turned against the ones who joined them. Lotus could tell he didn't mean to do it, didn't want to do it, and he disappeared into his room for days after he did it...but here it was happening again. None of the ninjas here took offense from it, they had been thoroughly warned before hand that he wasn't steady and they quickly moved out of his rampaging reach even as Leonardo quickly moved in to try and calm him.

But another beat him to it this time. One of the masked figures calmly walked up to him, stunning all who watched, and stopped just behind him as he began to tear a wall apart. They calmly reached out and tapped his shell, and ducked as he came around with a vengeance, spun himself around as he missed his target and fell over. Then they leaned over him, looking down at him as he blinked in confusion. "You went bonkers again." A young woman's voice came from behind the mask and his eyes widened.

"Holly?" he asked, his anger now forgotten as he sat up confused.

She pulled the mask from her head and a shock of red hair appeared from underneath it as she grinned at him. "I told you I'd meet you again someday." She smirked at him. "And this time I'm old enough to put up with your shit."

Lotus looked at Leonardo confused, and was even more confused when he groaned and rolled his eyes. Apparently they knew this young woman. And the story on how should prove very interesting.


	29. Chapter 29

As soon as Leo saw that red hair...he knew this was going to happen. She had that same determination on her face as when she was just a ten year old kid. Now at nineteen, she was even more determined...or stubborn if you wished to put it that way. Which is how he looked at it. She had literally followed them back to their home from the recruit barracks, chatting it up with Mikey the whole way. Seems like the variations of "don't come with us" seemed to not get through to her. Lord...she was Lotus all over again, but more chipper.

"So this is where you settled down, huh?" Holly said as she walked in like she owned the place. "I like it." She promptly flopped herself onto the couch.

"Holly...really..." Leo sighed. "Don't you have somewhere else to be right now?"

"Not anywhere I _want_ to be." She mumbled quietly.

"I understand that you have just joined the recruits today." Lotus said as she walked up to her. "Usually we train you first before we send you out in situations where confrontations are likely."

"I understand the rules." Holly said as she leaned into the couch. "But I've been in training since I was fourteen, I think I can handle myself."

"Can you now?" Raph grumped at her.

"Yup. Was good enough to sneak into the main group wasn't I?"

"Why?"

She looked up at him. "Because I wanted too."

"Because you _wanted_ too? You think this is some damn _game_?" Raph almost roared at her. "You think we go out and do this shit because we _want_ too? We do this this shit because Leo drags out there to do it! For some need to help those who would rather just shoot us than have anything to do with us!"

That stung the oldest as he looked at his brother in shock. "Raph..."

"Shut the fuck up Leo!" Raph spun on him, his eyes angry. "And don't you _dare_ tell me that's not the reason why you do this! You drag us out there, time and time again, risking our lives because you want to be the same kind of fucking heros as our counterparts. You didn't ask us, you didn't see how we felt about it, you just decided that's what we were going to do! What in the hell is in it for us beside risking facing him!"

Leo didn't know what to say to him, mainly because he was right. He did drag them into this... He had hoped they would all be in agreement over it, but now it seems they are not. "Raph... I'm sorry... I just saw a chance for us to become something better..."

"And what made you assume I _wanted_ something better! We were safe, we had all that we needed to survive. What in the hell made you think I _want_ to go out almost every damn night and risk all of that!"

"You like living like a damn hermit?" Holly asked him, still sitting relaxed on the couch as she looked up at him. "I see things a little different. I see a turtle who is scared of something."

"What the fuck do _you_ know!" Raph glared at her. "You've met us for like twenty minutes before you pop back in nine years later."

"Doesn't change the fact of what I see."

"Raph, just calm down." Leo told him. He knew if this kept up he'd work himself into a fit, and that would be dangerous for the two humans here. He didn't want Holly to get hurt...or Lotus.

"I told you to shut the fuck up Leo!" He roared back, his eyes wild. The large turtle was rapidly losing his composure.

Leo grabbed Lotus and pulled her closer to him before he shoved her towards Mikey. Then, as Mikey pulled her a safe distance away, he tried to figure out how to get to Holly without setting him off. "Alright, Raph. I'll shut up." He stepped a little closer to the couch. "Just calm down...ok? Just calm down..."

"Good luck with that." Holly suddenly popped off. Leo groaned as those green eyes went flat with anger. She however was watching Raph intently, her eyes slightly narrowed as he spun back towards her. In a rage, Raph lunged at her, and all he got was a facefull of couch as she easily brought her legs up, over, and she rolled herself over onto the top of the backrest of the sturdy piece of furniture. Then while he was still chewing couch cushions she smoothly flipped over him and landed feet first on one of the recliners, perfectly balanced with her feet on each armrest.

Again Leo moved in to get her, but found Mikey and Lotus both laying an arm on him to hold him back. "What are you _doing_?" He snapped as they blocked his way.

"The girl can obviously handle herself Master." Lotus told him. "And she is goading him on purpose. She wants this to happen."

"Why in the hell would she want this?"

"To redirect his anger to something else besides you." Came the calm reply. "She is giving him something to target besides one of his loved ones."

Even as they held that quick conversation, Holly did it again. "That the best you got? One clumsy charge? I expected better from you. Supposed to be the scariest one of them all... Pfft..."

With another roar he spun again and charged her, and she flipped over him in a forward spin and she landed lightly onto the floor behind him, while he knocked the recliner over backwards hard enough to where he flipped with it.

"All I see is a big baby throwing a temper tantrum." She easily ducked under the wild swing and sidestepped him. "I think he needs a nap myself."

Leo was wanting so much to intervene to the point that he was about to pick Lotus up and move her out of his way. Holly was now cornered between Raph and the wall, and she was running out of dodging room. Mikey's grip tightened on his arm though. "Just trust her Leo... Nobody is dumb enough to goad him on like that without having something up their sleeve."

"Mikey, I can't... What if he hurts her..."

"He won't. Just watch..."

Raph was letting out growls that sounded like they should come out of a wild animal. Holly didn't budge as he charged in again. This time when he got close enough, she leapt straight up and held onto the pipes above her before raising the rest of her body out of the way. Raph missed her by inches and crashed, head first, into the wall that was behind her. He stood upright, blinked a few times as he stumbled a few steps, then smoothly fell over.

She dropped back to the floor next to him then and knelt down. "I'm sorry for that." She quietly apologized. "But I wasn't about you to let you hurt your brother, or yourself."

His green eyes bored into her brown ones a moment, searching, before they rolled into the back of his head and he passed out.

"Well, I guess that answers the question on if she's ready to go on missions." Donnie grumbled as he moved in to check Raph over.

"That was the most stupidest thing you could have possibly done!" Leo almost roared at her. "Do you know how easily he could have torn you apart!"

"Yup. Seen it first hand remember?"

"Then why on earth did you do it!"

She didn't answer for a moment as she laid a now gentle hand on Raph's chest, then she looked up at him and he was stunned to see tears in her eyes. "Because I didn't want him to hurt you, and I knew he was going too. Family is too important for stupid shit like that to happen."

Leo just looked at her, not really sure what to say. He was finding himself speechless a lot around women lately.

"Leo, help me move him to his room." Donnie distracted him. "You too Mikey."

Together they got Raph up off of the floor and into his room before gently sliding him into his bed. Then Leo sat in that room with him. His thoughts roaming in various directions as he did. Raph's words echoed in his head over and over again. He sat on the floor, simply because Raph didn't have a chair in here, leaning against the wall. Wondering if he had made the right choices. Just...wondering a lot of things lately. "Is this how it really is?" He asked, knowing the one he was asking wouldn't be able to hear him. "The constant fears, struggles. The setbacks? Is your noble life so damn noble because you fight more than just your foes?" He grew quiet, not really expecting his counterpart to answer him, but hoping something would. "Or do you struggle with this also? Do you make them do this or do they volunteer?" He sighed as he dropped his head, staring at the floor. "What am I doing wrong..."

"Nothing." Lotus told him quietly as she walked into the room. "If anything, maybe you try too hard."

"This from the one who pretty much bullied us into the whole thing." He grumbled as he watched her walk in. "If it hadn't been for you, we'd probably still be huddled down here."

"And you now wouldn't be doubting all of those choices. I do agree the current dilemma does seem to be my fault."

He stared at her as she stopped in front of him. Did she just... ugh! Why did she always have to twist his words around! It had to do something with the way the female mind worked...he was almost positive in fact. "Lotus, really? You blame yourself for my mistakes?" He got back up to his feet then, mainly because it felt weird having to look up at her like that. It gave him a view of certain attributes he really shouldn't be looking at. She was close enough to him now to where he should feel uncomfortable, but oddly enough, he wasn't.

She just shrugged, but her eyes said something else. Something more than her seemingly casual attitude towards everything. "Because I do not want you to blame yourself for something I started."

"You may have started it, but I was the one who took the ball...and I dropped it..."

"It is not to late to still and try and catch it." She smiled slightly up at him.

That smile...he had seen it before. But why did it seem so...inviting... He forced his eyes away from her and turned to the bed his brother now laid in, telling himself he didn't see the slight disappointment flash in her eyes. Why would she be disappointed? His mind refused to go into the explanation of why. "I don't know Lotus. It seems like it has a good head start to the ground."

"And what are we going to do about it?" She asked him, her brow raised.

"We?" He returned, his own going up.

"Of course."

"Nothing I really can do Lotus." He then said. "If he doesn't want to go out...I'm not going to make him anymore. It seems to be doing him more harm than good anyway."

"And the others?"

"Same goes for them." He sighed. "I've spent so much time ordering them on what to do, it's all I know. To even stop and ask them if they even wanted to do this never crossed my mind..."

"And if they decide to stay behind as well?"

"Then so be it." Leo told her quietly. "I know this is what I need to do. If I have to do so alone, then that is what I'll do."

He moved to pass her so he could leave the room, but she caught his arm and stopped him. "You will not do this alone, my Master." She firmly told him. "I will be by your side."

Her tone, her expression, were telling him something more. It confused him a little as he met her eyes. She had been confusing him a lot lately honestly. She seemed distracted at times, like earlier. Not to the point where she was losing her edge, but enough to where he noticed it. But he had to admit, having her there, distracted or not, already made him feel a little better. Okay...more than a little. He quietly left the room, with her walking next to him, and entered the living room to find Holly already passed out on the couch.

"She will not leave." Lotus told him, softly so not to wake her up. "It had been suggested that she return to the barracks, but she refuses."

"Why on earth would she even _want_ to stay here?" Leo asked, more than a little dumbfounded.

"I do not know, but I do have a feeling there is something she wished to discuss. She just has not had the opportunity to do so."

Leo sighed as he watched the sleeping woman. "Just, let her rest I guess. We'll figure it out in the morning."

Lotus just nodded before going to get a blanket for her. Leo just sat in the recliner nearby, his eyes lost in thought. So much had happened in the last few hours, and his mind struggled to deal with all of it. One day, he hoped, one day this would all become easier. But right now? Honestly he was wondering if he could handle this.


	30. Chapter 30

Raph groaned when he finally woke up. A long, loud, his head really fucking hurt, kinda groan. He was a little confused, until a really sore spot made him want to bring his hand to his head, and he winced in pain when he found the damn ostrich egg there.

"You shouldn't poke at it, you know." Came a woman's voice from the corner, Holly's voice. Holly...the tiny half pint little twerp that did this to him... He glared at her. "All you'll do is make it hurt worse."

"What the fuck are you doing in here." He rumbled as he sat up, and the room spun a little around him. For a minute he saw three Hollys before it settled back down again.

"Wasn't sure if you heard my earlier apology, so I came to offer it again. I'm sorry." She didn't move except for crossing her arms.

Apologie? She came into his domain, his room, his private sanctuary...to tell him she was _sorry_? "That's not going to cut it cupcake." He snarled at her as he sat up. "Now get the fuck out."

"Why?"

"Because I told you so!"

She just snorted an amused laugh as she just tilted her head to look back at him. "Raphael, your family has been trying to throw me out for the last few hours...and I'm still here."

He gave her a threatening growl as he swung his legs out of the bed. "That's because they don't have the balls to pick you up and just chuck you out on your ass." He growled again.

"I thought you were turtle and not a dog." Was her only response as she watched him calmly.

He didn't want anything to do with her, didn't want her apology, didn't want her in his room, he just wanted her to leave him alone. "Just get the fuck out!" He finally roared at her.

"No."

He was up on his feet in an instant as he snarled at her. He didn't have time to take a step before the door burst open and Leo was standing in the frame. Raph's older brother saw Holly standing nearby and groaned in frustration. "Didn't you piss him off enough earlier?"

"I haven't even begun to piss him off." Holly replied in that same infuriating calm voice.

Raph was about to lose what was left of his temper if they didn't get out and leave him in peace! "Why won't you leave me the hell alone!"

"Because I need your help!" She finally shouted back, her eyes filling with tears. The fact that she screamed back at him stunned him into silence. Wasn't really expecting that out of the girl. It also was enough of a racket to cause the other two brothers to pop their heads into the room. "I need your help..." She said again in a quieter tone. "I don't know who else to turn too."

Raph didn't care. He was too consumed by his own problems to even pretend too. "Why ask me? Leo is the one who wants to be the hero."

"I was actually going to ask all of you, but I figured I should at least make an effort to smooth over what happened earlier."

"Just get _out_!"

"I _need_ you!" She screamed back at him. "I need all of you and you seem to be the one I need to get through the most!"

"I don't _care_!" He thundered right back. By now he had had more than enough of her. And he was about to storm across his room and let her know that too. Until Leo got in between them.

"Raph, don't." Was all he said as his brown eyes flashed for a moment. "I won't let you hurt her."

Raph snarled at his brother, his lip curling with anger he couldn't control. But he held it back long enough to get his point across. "Get her out of here then."

Leo didn't say anything as he turned and began to guide Holly out. But the silence didn't last, once he pushed out of the room he turned to his younger brother. "Raph, I'm not going to do this to you any more. If you want to stay here, fine. Until you get your head straight it's too risky for all of us. But I'm not going to stop."

"Well goody for you." Raph mumbled as he sat back down on the bed. "Try not to get yourself killed by some ungrateful ass out there."

"At least I know I tried to do something to make up for what I've done. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't even try." And then he was gone.

The large turtle sighed when he once again found himself alone. He finally got what he wanted, but then, why did he feel like a piece of him just died...

.

.

Leo walked Holly back into the living room and gently sat her down on the couch. "You can't stay out of trouble for five minutes... You know how unstable he is, and yet you egg him on."

Holly didn't say anything as she brought her knees up to her chest. The only sound that came from her was a small sigh as she fought back tears. Leo looked at her, not really quite sure what to do with the girl. He should kick her out for that stunt, but felt reluctant to do that. "What possessed you to do that anyway?" He asked her, a little curious despite his anger at her egging Raph on...again.

Silence was the answer as she huddled on the couch. Leo shook his head a little, then began to walk back towards his room, where he had been awakened by his brother's yelling. It was still early and he was seriously thinking of getting some more sleep in.

He didn't make it far when her voice reached his ears. "I need help." She said so quietly that Leo barely heard her. He stopped and turned back to her. When he did he met her brown eyes. "I...was hoping..."

"Hoping what?" He asked.

"Hoping that you all were...better than the last time I saw you."

"Holly, we are trying, but we aren't the good guys you are wanting us to be. We never will be."

"That's not how I see it. I see turtles that want to do good, but have a hard time with it."

"Of course we do. We've done so much wrong to be easily accepted. No matter how many we help, like tonight, there will always be those who would rather see us dead. We find some everytime we go out."

"And I guess that I shouldn't even bother asking then..." She turned her head away again. "If doing these things still brings you grief, I have no right to ask."

"Ask what Holly?"

It took her a moment to answer as she dropped her chin to her knees, her eyes lost in the distance. "I don't know where my brother is... I mean, I have a good idea but I haven't heard from him in a few weeks now."

"If you know where he is, why can't you go find him? You are obviously skilled."

"Because my skills aren't enough!" She finally broke down. "He went to infiltrate Shredder's forces, to pass information to the clan that took us in, the clan that trained me, so we could do our own sabotage attempts. I know where he went...but I have no chance in hell to get in to look for him...to make sure he's...ok..."

Leo didn't know what to say as he looked at her. Truthfully, this wasn't the first time that this had been attempted. And he had ferreted some of those infiltrators out numerous times, and also dealt with them. He knew what had likely happened to him if he did get caught. But on the other hand, Spencer was the one running things here while Hun was over across the portal. And his tastes were more...experimental. Where Leo would have killed them outright, Spencer would, maybe, keep them alive to test his machines. There may be a chance he could still be alive, but was one man really worth the risk of trying to infiltrate the main headquarters...their old home? That's where he would be held, if he were even still alive. And if he wasn't, maybe they could find out where he was.

That part he had figured out fairly quickly, but Leo had a harder time trying to justify such a dangerous attempt. This wasn't a supply dump to destroy, or a trainful of prisoners to free. This was trying to break into a very highly guarded building that was several stories tall, and full to the top with security measures. It would be suicide to even try it. But if he didn't try...would he be able to live with himself? What if there were others being held, waiting for Spencer to find something painful for them to test? What if there were innocent children? Children who had no means to defend themselves, just like he didn't when his father had been ripped away from him. Children...it always came down to the children. The most helpless of all, thrown into this world by no fault of their own and forced to suffer in it. Blue eyes flashed across his vision, their haunting gaze is what decided the whole entire matter for him.

"Get some rest Holly." He quietly told the woman on the couch. "I'll see what I can do."

She just wearily nodded and laid back down and soon her eyes closed and her breathing calmed. Leo watched her sleep, the worry still on her face. He couldn't imagine losing one of his brothers, the pain she was feeling from the unknown. The uncertainty of what happened to him, the loss of hope the longer she went without hearing from him. Maybe she was right, maybe they all should go in, but Leo wasn't going to drag the others out. He couldn't. Not with Raph having his own issues, and Mikey...he wasn't about to drag the still timid turtle the length of their former home. He did well in normal fights, but the fear of Shredder still haunted him, still haunted all of them. And Lotus...he refused to take her into that building, refused to take her anywhere near it. She meant too much to him for him to be that stupid. Holly was no where near in the condition she needed to be in either right now. He also knew not a damn one of them would understand his reasoning and all of them would insist on coming with him, and that was an argument he really didn't want to have.

Instead of returning to his room to sleep, he got dressed before moving towards the main entrance where the weapons were hung and slid his katanas in their sheaths. Pausing a moment he looked back into his home, wondering if he was making a mistake. He wouldn't drag the others into this, had no right to drag them into this. But he himself just couldn't let this go. Leo would go out, and he would do so alone. It wouldn't be the first time he did this to protect the ones closest to him and he was fairly sure it wouldn't be the last either. Then why did it feel so...wrong. Why did he feel like he was missing something as he stood there, ready to go. Why was he so reluctant? That he couldn't figure out and sighed before he turned towards the door, and walked out of it.


	31. Chapter 31

Raph groaned as his door was opened, even though he had locked it. By sound of it it was because someone had placed a decent kick on it. Why wouldn't they just leave him alone? He glared at the intruder and met a determined Lotus as she stalked in the room. "Master Leonardo is gone." She told him in a flat tone.

"So?" Raph growled at her. "It's not the first time he's gone out on his own."

"Without letting the rest of us know on where he will be? Or what he is doing?"

"I don't care!"

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "Maybe you should."

"Maybe I'm tired of pretending that I do."

"That is your brother out there." Lotus snarled back at him, completely unfazed by the snarl he sent back her way. "He has suffered so much to try and pull you from what you have been, but yet you refuse to see the act has hurt him just as much as it did all the rest of you. But he has tried to hide his own fears and doubts to be there for you to the point where he no longer wishes to take any of you out. And I fear that has led him to do something foolish. I am sick of your continued childishness on how you treat him. I will go out to look for him, and Master Donatello and Master Michelangelo are going to come with me. I had hoped you would help, but now I see that you would rather sit here and wallow in your despair." She glared at him one more time before she turned and stormed out the door, that Raph noticed was hanging by one hinge, and past Holly who was standing in the doorway.

"She gets destructive when she's mad." Holly noted as she watched Lotus leave. "I'm going too, because I think it's my fault he's gone. I...didn't expect him to go off alone..."

"What did you tell him." Raph growled at her, his eyes narrowing.

"The reason why I came here." She quietly admitted. "I had wanted your help in finding my brother...I never thought yours would pull this stunt..."

"Holly!" Came Donnie's shout from the living room. "Let's go! Before Lotus starts breaking the furniture!"

"Look, I'm sorry for this. I really am. I never meant for the wall to happen, or your brother to sneak out. I'm not perfect, none of us are. But I do know that I will move mountains to make sure my brother is safe. Just because that's what families are supposed to do. Donatello thinks that Leonardo may be heading to Shredder's head quarters, just so you know where we all went." And then she too left the room, leaving Raph to stare at the empty door frame.

He dropped back down onto his bed, sliding his hands behind his head as he listened to them all leave, and laid there quietly for some time after. He avoided thinking about the information that had just been given to him. It was Leo's own damn fault. He was the one that had wanted to go out and play fucking hero. He was the one that was trying to change the world. Which was pretty stupid as far as Raph was concerned. No one would ever accept them fully, not even these trained pets Lotus had scrounged up. The whole idea of trying to mess with Shredder was nuts.

But Leo was also the one who was there for him those first few days after...Father had been taken. He stood by them all as they adjusted to their new life of fear, trying to keep their hopes up, trying to keep most of the burdens off of the rest of them. Even as Raph lost his compassion for others, Leo had desperately held onto it. Raph remembered the last time Leo had stood up for them, watched as Mikey carried the bleeding body into Donnie's lab. Just because he tried to shield the rest of them. And now he was doing the same shit again and more than likely getting into the same kind of trouble. Worry grew in him as he remembered what kind of trouble his older brother was actually getting into.

Without even really knowing he was doing it, he got up out of the bed and geared up. If he hurried maybe he could still catch the others. Leo was his brother, his family and Leo needed him. For once, Raph was determined to be there for him...then beat the snot out of him for even trying to pull this stunt. Holly was right...it's what families did. Besides, Lotus would never let him live it down if he didn't get off his ass and help.

.

.

Leo peered around the corner of the building he was standing behind, his eyes narrowed as he took it all in. The place hadn't changed much in the last few years besides the improvement to security. Improvements made no doubt because the turtles were now on the opposite side of the fence. The rooftop entrance was heavily guarded now and he wasn't going to risk going that way, but there were other ways inside and he was looking at one of them. It was delivery time, and the cargo door was wide open on the ground level. He would have to be quick, he would have to be silent...and he would have to have an insane amount of luck.

He took a deep breath to steady himself, a flash of doubt creeping in for just a second before he was off. Using the shadows as much as he could he quickly caught up to the truck as it pulled closer before swiftly climbing up the side of it. He knew this tactic wouldn't work to actually get in, but it would get him closer. He laid low on the roof as it made it's way closer then when he was close enough he jumped from the truck to another well shadowed spot. He now wasn't that far from the open cargo door. Even as the ninjas checked the truck, including the top of it he had been on moments before, Leo carefully made his way to the cargo door and slipped inside. Then made a mad dash for the stair well. Elevator would be too risky.

Carefully, step by step, he went up. He knew which level he needed and it was on one of the upper floors. He listened for any sound of one of the stairwell doors opening and quickly moved past the door that led to the other floors. He didn't want to linger by those incase someone decided to use the stairs. Onward and upward he moved, one floor at a time until he carefully opened the door that he needed. The hallway on the other side was empty and he slipped out of his semisecure spot and into the dragon's nest. The door clicking shut behind him had the odd effect of sounding like a large steel door slamming shut. He ignored his unease as he kept moving to where Spencer kept his lab. Donnie's old lab.

The door didn't make a sound when he opened it and slipped inside, more than a little surprised that he actually made it this far. Security was increased, but the quality of it didn't it seemed. Leo found himself in a room that had changes made to it since he had been in here last. Most of the equipment was still there, but so were a few newer things. Like the cells he noticed along the back wall. And they indeed had individuals in them. Leo closed his eyes in a peculiar mixture of relief and disgust. Disgust that Spencer even did this, and relief that there was actually someone here to free. The trip wasn't a complete waste.

Moving closer to the cells, he carefully looked the individuals over, hoping to find the one he was actually here for. And again relief hit him when he found James. He was beaten, battered and not in good shape...but he was here. Leo carefully moved towards his cell and knelt down on one knee next to it as the man slept on the floor. "James?" He whispered softly and the man's eyes snapped open. "Can you move?"

"It hurts like a son of a bitch...but yeah." Leo believed that statement when James groaned in pain as he sat up. "Why are you here?"

"To get you, and these others, out." Leo replied as he began to work on the lock.

"No...I mean...how did you know..."

The turtle was quiet a moment as he worked. "Holly found us." He finally answered. "She was worried because she hadn't heard from you. After she told me what you did...I used my past knowledge to puzzle the rest out." He finished quietly as the cell popped open.

"I see." He groaned as Leo helped him to his feet. "Had heard rumors that you guys were taking the fight to him now."

"Apparently Holly did too, because that's how she found us. Snuck in with our recruits." Leo told him wryly. "Girl is stubborn."

"You noticed." He wobbled a bit on his feet, but soon was able to steady himself and Leo moved onto the next cage. "Holly always did have a hard head."

"You shouldn't have came here." James said then. "We all knew the risks when we tried to do this. Holly should have left you out of the whole thing."

"Maybe." Another cell popped open and again Leo helped the worn person, a woman this time, out before something else caught Leo's eye. There was a child in one of the cells, being held in the protective[arms of who Leo assumed was his mother as she eyed him warily. "But she did tell me and I wasn't going to just sit idly by. I've done that long enough..." He angrily snapped open that cell next and James coaxed the woman and child out as Leo moved to the next.

One by one Leo worked the cells open and one by one the occupants came out. Some barely able to walk, but most of them mobile enough to help those that were having trouble. Now he had to get them all out of here and that wasn't going to be easy to do with the ten extra bodies.

"Can we trust him?" Those words stung Leo a little as the mother whispered them to James. What he told Holly was proven true again. Always there was someone who couldn't see what he was trying to do.

"I do." James told her without hesitation as he followed Leo to the door.

Leo carefully opened the door and peered out, still empty. He sent out a quiet thought of thanks to whoever might be taking pity on him enough to listen before he led them out, and he got within a few yards of the stairwell before he realised that whoever was listening had a nasty sense of humor as Spencer came out of it. And he wasn't alone.

"Really Leonardo? Alone? You came here alone? You actually thought you could come here and take my pets and leave without _some_ one noticing?"

Leo was at that point wondering what the hell he had been thinking as he watched the ninjas surround him. He was so close to the stairs, but they might as well be a world away because Spencer and his goons effectively blocked the way to them. Leo just narrowed his eyes as the katanas came out. He may have made a mistake, but he was going to at least try to fight an opening out of here for the others. All he needed was to hold the ninjas back long enough for them to get to the door. Leo didn't even hesitate and the swords began their dance as he tried to open the way, but there were just too many. Slowly he was getting pushed back instead of getting closer. Yup...he had seriously bitten off more than he could chew with this trip.


	32. Chapter 32

Even though he was losing ground, he still didn't give up. Leo's katanas came in again and again as he tried to keep the ninjas away from the battered individuals behind him. And more coming at Spencer's call really wasn't helping right now. He just snarled at them all and kept pushing on, and was stunned when he noticed he wasn't the only one anymore to fight back. James had picked up a weapon of one of the fallen ninjas and was putting it to use, fighting side by side with the turtle.

"You shouldn't be doing this." Leo mumbled to the man as he fought on. "You're in no condition to fight."

"You shouldn't be doing this either, but you were dumb enough to come here alone."

"Always a fucking smartass in the bunch..." Leo mumbled after he shot the man a quick glare.

James grinned and gave him a wink. "Wouldn't be much fun otherwise."

"I can do without the fun." Leo snapped as he blocked one of the attackers from getting around him. "I just want to get us all the hell out of here."

"Good luck with that Leonardo." Spencer smirked at him, from the safety behind his men. "These aren't the only ones you're going to have to deal with. There are already more on the way...along with the Master." The cocky little shit actually leaned against the wall next to the stairwell door as he watched the scuffle. "You are not getting out of here again, alive anyway."

Leo opened his mouth to reply to that, in some heroic fashion. The usual I won't give up while I still have fight in me spill, words of the last stand, whatever you wanted to call it. But before he could the door Spencer was leaning next too suddenly burst open, with a lot a force causing it to smash into a totally unprepared Spencer who slid unconscious to the floor. Leo barely had time to take that fact, along with the individuals who came pouring out of that doorway, in before he heard a voice that made him wince.

" _Master_ Leonardo, I do think we will need to discuss your strategy concerning this endeavor, because I clearly do not see the logic in it." Lotus told him in an ice cold tone as she began to work on the other side of the ninja group.

"Great..." Leo mumbled in resignation. "I think I would be better off if I just jumped off of the building."

James chuckled as his stolen weapon came around again. "Your girlfriend is mad at you."

"She's _not_ my girlfriend." Leo growled back at him, punching out and breaking a nose in his embarrassed frustration.

James calmly watched the man fly away, then looked at Lotus who was severely pissed still, then at Leo. "You sure coulda fooled me." He muttered under his breath.

Leo ignored him, trying to bring his attention back to the fight where it was needed the most right now. Wasn't going to be that easy though it seemed. "Leo!" Donnie snapped at him as he came out of the stairwell with a handful of their own troops behind him. "I swear to god if Lotus doesn't kill you first, I will!" He almost snarled. "Do you have _any_ idea how bad she has gotten on my nerves on the trip over here?"

"I'm not sure I even _want_ to know." Leo sighed.

"I was about to pull over and throw her out!"

"Pull over?"

"She insisted I drive the truck I rigged up for the last train rescue!"

"Lord..." Leo sighed again as the last foes fell. The final two being taken out with ferocity by Lotus and Donnie. She was still mad at Leo and Donnie was still mad at her. Wonderful. Then the process began of herding everyone out of the corridor and into the stairwell.

They made their way down as quick as they could, but it still seemed so very slow to him. And it didn't help matters that Donnie was grumbling the whole time while Lotus gave him the silent treatment. We need to move faster!" Donnie said as he studied his device. "We got baddies closing in on this stairwell. Any moment now it's going to get real crowded in here."

"They are going as fast as the situation allows." Leo grumbled back at him.

"It may not be fast enough."

"It has to be." Leo firmly told him. "I'm not leaving any of them behind."

Donnie shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if this going good crap is really worth the effort..."

Leo chose not to answer him, but he was wondering the very same thing. It did seem like the harder he tried the more complications were thrown his way. Again silently asked his counterpart if he had it this rough.

"We shall be fine." Lotus finally broke her silence as she caught the stumbling mother and steadied her. "But that may change very rapidly if you start doubting yourselves."

"Must be nice to not have a care in the world." Leo snapped at her as they rounded another bend in the stairwell. "Excuse the rest of us for seeing the matter a little more practically...we are fucked."

She didn't reply, but her face took on a stung look and she briefly closed her eyes, eyes that Leo noticed had more moisture in them than usual, and swallowed hard. Suddenly he felt like a damn heel. Once again old habits forced themselves to the top and he lashed out at her without thinking.

James also caught the tears she was trying to hold back at his outburst and gave Leo a level look as they went down the next flight of stairs. "A little harsh, don't you think? If she didn't care, then she wouldn't be here bailing your stupid ass out."

"Perhaps I care too much." Lotus replied quietly.

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" Leo asked her, still a little frustrated.

"Nothing... Just...let us proceed Master. We are not as unprepared as it would seem."

"No...we are even worse off." Donnie grumbled.

"I hold faith in them."

"Will one of you two care to elaborate? Or am I going to have to guess my way though the problem?"

"Mikey and Holly took another group to cause a distraction." Donnie filled him in. "I'm just not sure if it's going to work out."

"You did what?" Leo felt his frustration turning to anger. "You brought the most timid one of us to the place he fears the most and you let that stubborn female go with him? Are you two fucking stupid!" He almost roared. "I left alone so none of you would have to be here! Especially him!"

Again Lotus winced at his words and tone. Donnie just mumbled something under his breath along the lines of "See what happens when you try to do something nice for someone..."

"Just cut the sarcastic comments." Leo snapped at him. "Where the fuck is Mikey!"

"He and Holly have a group with them and are causing havoc in the barracks."

Leo just growled as he quickly thought. "How close are those reinforcements to reaching us?" He asked even as they didn't break stride.

"A few minutes, they do seem a bit confused over which way to go. Mikey is muddying up the waters enough to give us a little breathing room, but not much."

"And Raph?"

"He...decided not to come with us." Donnie quietly told his older brother.

Leo wasn't sure if he should be happy about that or not. Raph had been...iffy...lately, but not having him here didn't sit well with him either for some reason. "Where is the largest group?"

"Approaching the stairwell below us."

Leo thought again, his mind working quickly now as he looked around at the battered refugees. "You and Lotus take them and get them the hell out of here. I'm going to draw them off then I'm going to find Mikey."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me!" He growled, his frustration rising again. "Just get them the hell out of here!"

"Master, I do not think you should-"

"Not now Lotus, just for once do what I fucking tell you without arguing with me! They are way more important than I ever will be. Stop worrying about me and go!"

Leo left them before she could even begin to open her mouth to protest again, but to his unending frustration he found he wasn't alone. THere was someone coming with him out the door he was now heading through. "James...didn't I tell you to get the hell out of here!"

"I'm not one of yours to command." He snapped back. "There was a mention of my sister being out here, I'm not going to just sit back and let her get herself into more trouble."

Leo bit his tongue on that one, because he knew it wouldn't do any good. "Stay close, if you can." He mumbled as he took off again at a trot. Leo had to give the guy credit, he was in shitty condition but he didn't complain and did manage to keep up. Of course Leo slowing the pace a bit so he _could_ was probably helping more than a little.

"What's the plan?" The tall human asked as Leo closed in on the group of heading their way, now fully in view in the corridor.

"Get them off course. Lure them away from the group in the stairwell and then lose them. Then we go find our wayward wandering siblings."

"Sounds easy enough." James replied. "Any idea on how to do that?"

Leo just shrugged. "I'm sure it will come to me as we go."

James just gave him a wide eyed incredulous look before he facepalmed. "This is going to be fun..."

"I didn't ask you to come along, you know." Leo mumbled to him as the katanas came out.

"Seems like you didn't ask for any kind of help tonight."

"Is everyone going to rub my face in that tonight?" Leo sighed as the first ninjas came in.

"Leonardo...I don't think you've even begun to hear about it." James grinned as his own weapon started it's work. "That chick is gonna give you hell about it later."

"Yay for me." Leo mumbled in reply, then knocked a few ninjas back. Doing so he managed to open them up some room and Leo practically drug James along with him as he began to retreat down another section of corridors. As hoped, the rest of the ninjas followed them, completely ignoring the refugees in the stairwell now that they actually had someone in their sights. James could barely keep up with the quick pace he set and actually slipped after Leo rounded a corner too fast. Leo kept him on his feet though and slammed his fist into a small panel hidden in the wall and a small secret door came into view. "Good...it's still here." Leo sighed with relief as he pulled James in behind him. "I was hoping it would be." He slammed the matching panel on this side and the door snapped back shut. Then he jammed a kunai into the panel, filling the dim corridor they now found themselves in with the soft glow of sparks. Then he turned and ran.

"You new about this thing?" James asked him. "Why haven't you guys used this before to sneak in on him?"

"Because it's stupid." Leo bluntly told him. "These are Shredder's personal tunnels."

"So? You can still use them to your advantage, right?"

Leo shook his head in frustration. "No. Because right now he knows someone is in them. They are monitored for just these kinds of instances. He has them incase if he needs to bail out in a hurry, not many know of them but those who do have taken steps to secure them...Donnie being the main one. We only have a few moments before Shredder knows exactly where we went."

"So...we run from plain ninjas and alert the big man to exactly where we are in the process." James sighed. "Your plan leaves much to be desired."

"But it's also the quickest way to the barracks. If we move quick enough, maybe we can reach them before Shredder closes in on where we are."

"Caught some 'ifs' and 'maybes' in there bud. Those really don't bode well for our current situation."

"I didn't tell you to come with me!" Leo snapped at him.

"No...you didn't. I took it upon my stupid self to do that. Still doesn't mean I like the situation."

Leo took out his mounting irritation out on the next panel as he smashed it open harder than he had intended. Hard enough to where the door stuck halfway open as it shorted out. Leo, grumbling a lot of unpleasantries under his breath, forced it the rest of the way and soon after they were in another corridor in another section of the building.

He knew his memory served him right when he heard sounds of fighting coming from farther down and once again he pushed his feet into a run with a by now very weary James behind him. The fight had already left the barracks and entered the hallway ahead of them, and it wasn't pretty.

Leo quickly was able to pinpoint his youngest brother's location, since he was the only turtle there. Holly was just as easy to spot with her shock of red hair. What was going on around them was just one big cluster fuck though. They were sofar holding there own, but were going to be overwhelmed here in a little bit. Their distraction was proving to be a little too successful if the large amount of enemies could be any indication.

He didn't waste anytime as he crashed into the back side of that mess and soon he was fighting by his brother's side as Holly ducked under a swing. Leo's katana came over her ducking form and sliced into the ninja that was attacking her, then he spun and took out the one coming up behind his little brother. "Leo?" Mikey paused just long enough to see that his brother had indeed come to his aid. "Leo!" A small smile found it's way onto his grim face then.

"Time to go." Leo told him. "I did what I came here to do, and I think it's time we left Mikey. The others are already on the way out."

Mikey gave him a quick nod and began to shift the momentum of the fight to where they could all break free. "Fall back!" He ordered their motley crew of ninjas and they quickly began to do just that. Holly of course being the stubborn one who wouldn't let up as she smacked another upside the head.

"Holly!" James called out to her. "You heard the turtle pipsqueak! Move out!"

"James!" The grin on her face was like the sun coming up, and the sight melted the hard turtle's heart as he watched as she rushed to her brother's side, ignoring the fight around them to give him a bearhug. "James... I'm so glad your ok..."

"Time for that later sis. We need to get moving."

With a quick nod she fell back and Mikey pulled a few pebble looking objects out of one of his pouches and slammed them onto the ground and the air was quickly filled with the sounds of coughing as the turtles and their allies fell back farther. Quick enough those sounds went silent as they dropped, one by one, knocked out by the gas that was put into them for reasons just like this. Donnie's concoction seemed to work very well on them and soon they were left far behind, oblivious to everything as they slept.

Mikey ended up helping a quickly lagging James along as they retreated to the garage area, hoping to catch the others. Leo crashed through the stairwell door that led there and they quickly made their way down and came bursting out into the vehicle filled room, and right into another group that was obviously waiting for them. A group that wasn't on their side as the large man leading them proved. "I know I have instructed you better Leonardo. You out of all of them should know the likelyhood of your failing would be."

Shredder stalked in then as Mikey's eyes grew wide with fear and Leo put himself in between the group behind him and the man in front of him. "Get out of here Mikey." Leo quietly told his little brother. "Take the others and find away around him."

Mikey couldn't move, even though he so much wanted to follow those orders, he couldn't. Leo could feel his trembling, could sense his fear. Leo knew because he felt the same way. There was no way he could beat this monster of a man. The katanas came out anyway, he had to at least buy the others some time. He just wasn't sure how much he could give them, and it didn't look like much with Mikey being frozen in place the way he was. Why did they come here...why...


	33. Chapter 33

Leo barely managed to dodge the swing that came for him and quickly deflected another as it came down for his still frozen in fear brother. "Mikey!" Leo snapped, trying to bring his brother out of his state. "You gotta move little brother, _now_!"

The ninjas had already began to clear out with James who didn't really argue with them about it. He was smart enough to know he was out matched here. All but Holly and one or two others who were desperately trying to get the youngest turtle to move. He wasn't going to though, not unless you knocked him out and carried him. "Come on!" Holly grabbed his arm and tried to give him a pull to get him started, but had the effect of running into a wall with that effort since she really couldn't move his weight. She was full of spunk, but her five foot and a half frame really didn't cut it.

Leo hit the ground in a roll to dodge another swing from his former master and ended that roll next to Mikey before he got back to his feet, blocking a swing that came towards the fear blanked wide eyed turtle. "A noble, but useless effort Leonardo." Shedder snarled as he easily pushed the blocking blade down. Leo struggled to keep those blades locked, struggled to keep the focus on him and not the easier target next to him. He drowned out Holly's screams to Mikey, trying to get him to move by pulling him, pushing him, even went so far as to kick him. Leo saw none of it. His eyes were locked with those of the cruel man behind the blades, saw the amusement gleam in them at Leo's efforts. He was so focused that he almost missed the other arm coming in. He managed to twist most of his body out of the way, but Shredder caught him in the arm and pain erupted as it sliced across his skin. He bit back the pain but still held his own blade up with his good arm to keep Shredder's away from Mikey.

When the man swung at him again there was no way in hell Leo was going to come out of it unharmed, he knew that but still refused to give his former master a clear path to his little brother, his little Mikey. The turtle who was just beginning to take some kind of joy back into his life even as the others struggled with it. The one who painstakingly tried to remember all the meals they loved as children and forced the recipes out of that closed dark door that had once been a happy childhood. Lotus had bullied the small turtle relentlessly to get him to open up, to even laugh again even if it was rarely and Leo refused to see all that hope be wiped out! He refused to let this monster win!

Not knowing how he did it, his injured arm came up to meet that swing. It sent a wave of pain back up into his arm, it held but was already giving under the strain. With great chagrin that his body was failing him, his arm gave out and the katana clattered to the floor and with a quick twist he easily dislodged the other blade from his hand. "Now you die." Shredder promised him and Leo didn't really have anything left to deny that statement.

"Now you can kiss my big ass!" Came a roar from the side before Raph literally crashed into his view, by bowling into Shredder. "You leave my brothers _alone!_ " The big turtle snarled as he went rolling across the floor with the big man.

"Raph!" Leo's expression was one mixed with shock and relief at the sight of the missing brother.

"Don't stand there gawking like a damn idiot!" He snapped back. "Get Mikey the hell out of here!"

Leo didn't even argue the fact, he just turned and grabbed his little brother by the arm and drug his ass along. They only made it a few steps though when Raph came flying into them, narrowly missing Holly and sending all three of them crashing to the floor. Raph was groggily shaking his head trying to clear it even as Leo hissed in pain from when his already cut arm got mangled even more from the impact. Neither of them really took in that Shredder was closing in on them. By the time it did dawn on them, he was already about ready to strike. Until a kunai came out of nowhere, flying right at the ninja master. For a moment it looked like it would hit before Shredder smacked it out of the air at the last moment. His angry glare turned to the side to find a determined Holly standing there, about twenty feet away with another one in her hand.

"You heard the big guy. Leave them alone!" She threw the other one at him and it did about as much good as the first one did. "Well...shit..." She looked at the two kunai on the floor a bit dumbfounded. " _That_ didn't work..."

"You foolish child..." Shredder growled as he turned to her.

"Holly!" James fear fill cry was heard from the group of ninjas still trying to fight their way clear as Shredder stalked in on her. " _Move!_ "

Leo gritted his teeth together and grabbed one of his katana up off of the floor with his good arm before he staggered back up to his feet, Raph by his side. Together they made a mad dash for the redhead even as Shredder started his rush. Raph tackled her just as the blade came down and it skimmed off of his shell, throwing sparks and knocking them both a bit away. But Raph held that grip on her, almost tenderly holding her as he bounced and rolled across the floor. Leo's own blade came to meet Shredder's again even as it came down for the prone Raph. Shredder knocked it wide before getting a kick in that made Leo join his brother on the floor again. He was getting real tired of ending up down here. He somehow brought the blade he still had a grip up to meet the one coming for his head and again he found himself with locked blades, glaring over them at this human he hated so much.

That hold was broken again as a kusarigama chain wrapped around the arm Shredder was using, then it was tugged on with a great heave and Shredder found himself flying through the air. Leo followed his flight path with his eyes and watched as he flew past the holder of the other end. Mikey quickly ducked under the airborne tyrant as he flew over the turtle then came back up right after. After Shredder hit the wall behind the youngest turtle Mikey, his eyes now cold and hard towards the man, sent him flying again with another yank and this time he landed against a support pillar before Mikey threw the sickle part and the chain wrapped around him before embedding into the pillar.

"No more." Mikey snarled at him. "No more will I fear you. I may not be able to beat you, but I won't fear you anymore."

"Then I must reeducate you." Shredder snarled right back at him, even as his arms were starting to come free.

"Feel free to try." Mikey growled.

The bravado exchange was cut short however when more Ninjas flooded the garage, and none of them turtle friendly. "Mikey!" Leo called to his little brother. "We need to go!"

Mikey just glared at Shredder a moment before turning and trotting over to Leo, stopping long enough to pick up Holly's kunai and Leo's earlier dropped sword. Leo had by now made it to his feet, his hand clutching his seriously bleeding forearm. Raph was also up and was helping Holly to her feet. "See what happens when you try and pull this shit." Raph grumbled at Leo. "I have to come in and bail your ass out."

"Oh yeah, you were doing real good there brother." Leo snapped back. "I noticed you were sharing the view from the floor too." Leo pushed them all ahead of him as they tried to meet up with the other group.

"But I'm not the one bleeding like a stuck pig."

"Wouldn't stuck turtle be more accurate?" Holly asked with a grin and got two hard glares in return for her effort.

"And what in the hell were _you_ thinking?" Raph angrily asked her. "Do you seriously have a death wish?"

"No." James told him as they drew closer. "She's just a stubborn redhead. Thinks she's invisible or something." Holly stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes.

Mikey just smiled at her a little as he handed her back her kunai. "You might want to hold onto these. Getting new weapons sometimes isn't easy."

Leo wasn't really paying attention to them anymore, but was trying to find a way out. The garage door was now closed and any other exits were not in their immediate reach. He was beginning to feel that earlier, trapped frustration as he took it all in. There wasn't anywhere they could sneak off to this time. "Mikey, you got any more of those pellets?"

"Afraid not. Donnie hasn't had a chance to make more and I used what I had."

"Go fucking figure." Leo sighed as he found himself fighting again, with just one arm this time.

"Hey, this was your crack pot of a plan you crack head." Raph so kindly informed him. "And if you ask me it's a shitty one." He hands were already starting to twitch a little as the anger started to fill his eyes. Not a good sigh Leo had learned over the years.

"Look at it this way." Holly chirped. How the hell was she still so god damn bubbly still after all of this? Leo just wanted to crawl and hide in a hole somewhere. "You got a chance to impress me with your mighty manliness."

Raph just stared at her incredulously, his anger quickly forgotten in his utter disbelief that she actually said that. Leo just groaned as she grinned impishly at Raph. Then his own eyes widened in shock a bit as Raph actually laughed, he fucking _laughed_... That's it, Leo knew for sure now he was going fucking nuts.

Before he could ponder the impending insanity falling upon him, there was a sudden, very loud, crash at the main garage door and they all found themselves scrambling to dodge flying debris from it. Everyone just stared in shock at the large, converted and modified, dumptruck that suddenly found itself there where the main door had once been. Donnie popped his head out of the driver's side window as they all still blinked over the sudden appearance. "Well are you dip shits going to get in or are you waiting for a special invitation?"

"I think that's our cue to get on." Mikey told Leo who nodded in stunned agreement before they started to fight their way to the waiting truck. It really helped when hidden panels opened up on the sides and Donnie let everyone there see exactly what he had been upgrading it with. Leo swallowed hard as the numerous raiding trips to the weapons depot suddenly became very clear. The damn thing had missiles out the fucking ass...and Lotus seemed perfectly content with the large gun that popped out of the top, because she sure as hell didn't look too unhappy about firing it. Between those two reasons alone they found the way to it surprisingly clear in a short amount of time.

After Donnie remote opened the large installed door on the side, they all climbed in, packed tighter than sardines but at least they all fit. Once they were all secured Donnie slapped it in reverse and left a parting gift, that went boom, to discourage any pursuit, then he floored it.

James had collapsed wearily to the floor, his exhaustion level obviously hit at that point. Leo felt pretty much the same way as he slid down the wall nearby to also plop himself on the floor, his hand once again covering his wound to try and stop the bleeding. He felt as shitty as James looked. By now he had his little sister fussing all over him as Leo watched. Seeing the sheer happiness on those faces suddenly made the whole night worthwhile to him. Didn't mean he wasn't going to hear about it later though.


	34. Chapter 34

Leo winced a little in pain as the bandage was wrapped around his arm, no doubt tighter than it really should have been. It seemed to him Lotus was trying to put a tourniquet on instead of something to protect the severy stitched up arm. Then she yanked on it again, just because she could apparently. "Are you done now?" He asked her with a sigh. "Or are you going to try and cut off what circulation I have left in my arm?"

"I will if you wish me too." Came her stony reply. Pretty much how she's been since they got back actually. James got babied and was now resting easily on the cot Donnie had set up in the lab for him. Apparently his ordeal warranted full recovery supervision by the smart turtle. Donnie, Lotus and Holly had fussed over him meticulously as Leo quietly waited, and bled, in the corner. Then, with stony glares and the silent treatment, Donnie and Lotus began to work on him. Well, he guessed he did deserve it after this shit. He hadn't seen either of them so worried before. Once the knitting had been done Donnie left to care for the others who weren't in as bad shape, leaving Leo fully in the care of a quiet Lotus.

Leo just shook his head as she finished with his arm and quietly left the lab, and ran right into Raph who was about to walk in. "I still stay I should beat your ass for pulling that stunt." Was the greeting he got.

Leo just grunted "Stand in line with everyone else." before he pushed his way past his brother and down the hall. He stomped his way to the dojo, not knowing where else to really go right now besides his room. If he went anywhere in the lair there was a potential ass chewing waiting for him.

He stood a moment in that training area and looked around. He really wanted to let some of his still pent up frustration out but was pretty sure he's get even more to listen too if he so much as twitched his arm the wrong way. His eyes settled on the mats, piled neatly in the corner, and suddenly he knew what he could try. He hadn't done it...since Father died...but maybe it was time he took it back up again. Leo moved towards that pile and carefully pulled the top matt off and slid it a bit off to the side before walking over and killing the lights. Then he returned to the spot he had chosen, sat crosslegged on the floor and tried to bring his mind to that calm place his Father had shown him so long ago. He tried to meditate.

It was uncomfortable to him, trying to pick up something he had dropped so long ago. Not even really sure why he was even trying really. He didn't know how long he sat there in that darkened room, trying to find some kind of peace. Peace that refused to come to him. Finally he just gave up with a sigh and opened his eyes, and was a little shocked to see Mikey sitting in front of him. Leo didn't even hear him come in the room.

"There's something I'd never thought I'd see you do again." Mikey told Leo's questioning look.

"Never thought I would." Leo replied honestly. "Then again...there was a time I thought I'd never see you cook again."

"Looks like we are all picking up old hobbies." Mikey let out one of his rare smiles before it disappeared as quickly as it came. "Leo..." He trailed off, suddenly uncertainty crossed his face over what he was thinking.

"What Mikey." Came the gentle prod. He instinctively knew there was something bothering the youngest, but he obviously was too scared to voice it. Given Leo's often flare ups it was easy to understand why. He wasn't quite as bad as Raph, but he wasn't exactly the most patient being on this earth either. And it always seemed to be Lotus who knew how to make him flare up too. Most of the time anyway. Stubborn ass woman...

Mikey took a deep, nervous, breath before fully looking at his older brother. "Leo, I think I know why you went out alone like that... I know we all haven't been reliable in one way or another. But, and I know it's not my place to say this...could you please not do that again..." He finished quietly, watching for one of Leo's explosions to come. "I know my head hasn't been on straight for a while, a long while, but I'll still follow you if you need me. We don't follow him anymore, you don't have to go out alone any more to protect us. And if we lost you out there like that...I'm not sure the rest of us would ever recover from it...I'd never..." Mikey lost his composure then as a small sob escaped his throat. "We're brothers Leo, we're supposed to help each other... We are all we have..." Mikey finally lost the battle with himself and the first tears slipped under his black mask.

Leo's own eyes misted up as it fully hit him how worried the others, especially Mikey, must have really been. Once they had been so full of hate for each other that this conversation wouldn't even have happened, now the youngest was fully admitting how concerned he had actually been, was freely showing the emotions of it as the those small drops of salty fluid trickled down his face. To say Leo felt like a huge pile of shit was a vast understatement. Just as unashamed as Mikey, Leo let his own feelings show as he wrapped an arm around the smaller turtle. "I won't Mikey...and I'm sorry for doing it this time." He felt Mikey trembling as he tried to pull himself back together.

Mikey nodded as he wiped his eyes. "Sorry...didn't mean to get all sappy on you..."

"Yeah you did." Leo teased him with a small smile. "Always was a sucker for those tears, even as a kid."

That brought another smile to Mikey's face, followed by a small chuckle. "Well...now that I know that... Think I can cry my way to a larger room?"

"Fucking clown." Leo laughed before giving him a playful push...that sent Mikey rolling across the floor.

Mikey just gave him a grin as they both stood up. "You gonna keep up with that?" His head nodded to the matt Leo had just gotten up off of. Both of them a little embarrassed at the show of sappyness from both of them.

"I suppose. It really didn't help much, but that may just be because I haven't done it in so long."

"I wish you would. I remember it eased your mind a lot when you and Father meditated together." Then he left, making his way to the kitchen.

Leo just sighed as he folded the matt back up and put it on top of the others. Maybe he would keep up with it, but right now his mind was to unsettled even to try. And he wasn't even sure why.

He puttered around the lair for a bit, trying to calm that feeling. He poked his head into DOnnie's lab, but found no one awake there. He just stayed long enough to see James sleeping, with Holly firmly entrenched in a cot next to him. That was going to be awkward if she insisted on staying that close to him. He might decide he needs some privacy after awhile. Leo just left as quietly as he came. Mikey had decided that he wanted to bake...cookies. It was almost dawn...and he was baking cookies... Leo just shook his head and moved on, followed by Mikey's soft humming as he moved on towards the bedrooms.

He passed the sleeping Raph's room. He knew that from the loud snore that made it's way through the door. Leo was surprised the damn door wasn't rattling. He just rolled his eyes as he moved on, past Donnie's door. It wasn't until he passed his own room and stood uncertainly outside of Lotus' door that he knew where he had been heading all along, and also knew what he had to do. Hesitantly he raised his hand and knocked quietly on the door. It didn't even occur to him that she might be sleeping until after the fact and he winced, hoping he didn't wake her up. He was in enough trouble as it was.

"Come." Came the prompt answer, lifting that worry from him.

He opened the door and stepped quietly in the room, and froze. His heart skipped a beat and he swallowed real hard. He had obviously caught her in the middle of getting ready for bed. Lotus was sitting on her bed, dressed in pale rose pajamas and she was brushing out her long hair. Hair that seemed shimmer in the dim lamplight as she ran the brush through the thick locks. He wondered if they were as soft as they looked... He swallowed hard again and pushed that thought firmly away before clearing his throat. For some reason it went dry and tightened up on him. Lord she was pretty when she wasn't dressed in her normal black fighting clothes...

She turned to him, her brown eyes framed by that pretty hair and he suddenly found out that no matter how hard he tried, that throat wasn't going to get it's moisture back any time soon. What in the hell was _wrong_ with him? "Yes?"

"I...ah...I'm sorry to bother you so late..." He stumbled over his own words.

"Then why did you?" Came the answer as she went back to brushing her hair.

"I wanted to apologize..." Was her hair always this shiney? Or was it just the effect of the lamp? "I...ahem...I was a bit...ungrateful earlier."

"I see." Leo's eyes watched her hand as the brush kept working on her hair. And that color really suited her. WHy couldn't she wear more colors outside of her room? "So you just came here to ease your own mind."

"Yes... No! God dammit!" Why did this woman always twist his fucking words around! "I acted like an ass towards you earlier...and I'm sorry."

She calmly put her brush on her nightstand before she got up and walked over to him. Leo had trouble keeping his eyes on her face as she did. She moved so smoothly under that silk... "I am not sure if I want to accept that apology." She stopped right in front of him and his face was starting to feel a bit heated. Great, was he getting sick now too?

"And why not?"

"Because it would make you feel better, but does nothing to me. I have no easy means of being rid of the frustration from your actions and words."

He looked a little uncomfortable at that. He told himself it was because of her words anyway. "Would it make you feel better if you hit me?" He asked, more as a joke really to try and lighten the somber mood than anything. Which was why he was totally surprised when she reached out and slapped the fuck out of him.

She tilted her head as his hand cover his stinging cheek, his eyes wide with shock. "Yes, Master, it did make me feel better. I now accept your apology." And with that she turned and went back to the bed to finish brushing her hair, leaving a speechless Leo standing behind her.

"Women!" He finally grumbled before turning and storming out of the room.


	35. Chapter 35

At least he wasn't getting the stony glances and silent treatment anymore Leo ruefully thought as he quietly ate supper with the rest of his family. A family that had by now included Holly and James both. Neither of them had a room here, but neither really desired one. They spent most of their days with the rest of their small band of Ninjas. No matter how much Leo grumbled and griped six years ago, they had become a permanent fixture in his home life. Just because they technically didn't live here, didn't mean that they weren't here a lot. They quite frequently came to eat with the turtles, and discussed what the ninjas needed over these meals with Lotus.

Mikey once again had been the one the firmly enforce their encroachment into this small group. Every time Leo tried to politely kick them out, he gave reasons on why he needed them to stay. After time Leo just had given up on it and he now looked at them with the same fondness as he did Lotus...well maybe he looked at Lotus a bit more fondly... Again, for the countless time, his eyes wandered to her as she ate, her delicate jaws working to chew the food. And also for the countless time he wondered what that skin would feel like under his fingertips. That thought was also pushed away for the countless time. She was his friend...his friend... She could be nothing more.

And he wasn't even sure if he deserved that friendship, from any of them. He was a turtle still tormented by what they had done. Still the blue eyes haunted him, still accused him. It seemed nothing would ever stop that stare into his soul. A stare that always reminded him of the monster he truly was.

"The new barracks are working out great." James told them around a mouthful of potato. "I was wondering if we could somehow dig a tunnel between here and there, since it's close enough."

"Don't talk with food in your mouth." Holly told him. "It's disgusting." His answer to that was to open his mouth as wide as he could. Since she was sitting next to him she of course got a good look at the half chewed contents. "Eww... Will you ever grow up?"

"Not if I can help it." He grinned at her.

"Shouldn't be too much of a problem." Donnie popped a piece of chicken in his mouth. "Just give me some time to figure out how to do it without causing the whole thing to fall on our heads."

"Would make going back and forth easier." Raph added in. That was also something that had slowly changed over the years...his temper. Raph had it still, but he didn't lose his shit as often anymore. And Leo had a sneaky suspicion that Holly had something to do with it. Everytime he would come close to one of his meltdowns, Holly was always there to quickly defuse it. It seemed like she knew instinctively what to say or do to stop that raging bull in it's tracks before it even left the gate. It baffled the hell out of Leo, but he was grateful for it. As long as he paired Raph up with her, his hot tempered brother could be very reliable now. Pissy, but reliable. But, even as with Leo, there was still something beneath the surface, something that he still couldn't quite shake. Something buried so deep in him that caused these fits of rage, and none of them could get to it. All they could do was damage control when it came to the surface.

Leo wandering thoughts distracted him as he pushed his food around his plate with his fork. He had been on edge a few weeks really now. Despite their best efforts, Shredder was becoming more active. He was bringing in supplies and his slave labor had also grown to accommodate it. All signs were pointing to a major move coming soon, Leo just couldn't figure out what. Though, deep down, he thought he might know. And it was that buried voice that was calling out to him now. Hun was still...over there as far as Leo knew and now even spencer himself hadn't been seen in a few weeks. They had did what they could to disrupt the old plan by causing whatever havoc they could to his supply lines, but Leo knew all they were doing was stalling him. Once the man was ready, he would move. Just because the idea was sixteen years old, didn't mean that Shredder would abandon that greed for the other world. But he really couldn't do anything about it if he did decide to go there...could he? He sighed as he pushed his peas around for lap thirty two on his plate. If they could only find a way to get the information they needed. Unfortunately...that would mean trying to sneak into the tower. Not even he was dumb enough to try that stunt again. No doubt security had been raised, again, after the last break in. Probably couldn't send in a mouse.

They all jumped a bit as the door burst open to their home, then slammed back shut. "Oh Mr. Leonaaaaaardo!" rang across the lair and they all settled back down again, Raph did so with a groan.

Leo turned, eyeridge raised, to face this newcomer. It was the little boy he had drug out of Spencer's clutches the same night he went to go get James. Little Daniel was eleven now. A quickly growing boy who had unlimited amounts of energy, and also had a knack of finding shit out he really wasn't supposed too. He and his mother, Helen, had chosen to stay also, mainly because they had really nowhere else to go. She was alone, her husband having been killed, like so many others. She didn't trust them at first, Leo still wasn't sure if she did now, but she and her son were safe. As long as the little busybody stayed hidden in the barracks anyway, which he seldom did.

The filthy little boy calmly walked up to the table and helped himself to a biscuit, and his hand was promptly slapped by Lotus. "You will wash those filthy extensions before you place them near the food." She scolded him.

Daniel just shrugged and took it anyway, taking a big bite out of it. "But I'm hungry. Can't wait."

Lotus rolled her eyes at the boy.

Leo just looked at him slightly amused. "I'm almost too scared to ask how you even got that dirty." He waved a hand in the air in front of his nose. "And smelly."

Daniel shrugged. "Snoopin'. As usual." He went and pulled up a spare chair, trailing dirt and who knows what behind him, and plopped into it, smacking loudly on his stolen biscuit. "Was out scroungin' through some dumpsters not ta far north o' here-" Before he could finish with that sentence Lotus got up and pulled the chair away from the table as far as she could. The boy glared at her and she glared right back before he rolled his eyes this time. "Anyhoo. I waza scrounging 'round and I saw a whole buncha of ol' Shredhead's toadies go into one of dem ol' abandoned warehouses."

"You should have been working on your grammar homework." Donnie mumbled as he listened to the child talk.

"Got bored wit it."

"I noticed. Doesn't change the fact that I'll double it if it's not turned in on time tomorrow."

"Meanie."

"Never denied it."

"What have you been told about going topside?" Leo firmly asked him. "Especially alone?"

"Umm...somtin along tha line of ta not ta."

"Boy..." Raph told him as he stood up. "You were told by your mother not to go up there. I should beat your little ass for that."

"Ya do dat and I ain't gonna tell ya what I saw."

"Hopefully your missing grammar book." Donnie mumbled.

Leo saw something else however as he studied the boy. He was mischievous, disobedient and a general pain in the ass...but he wouldn't risk coming here after an excursion like that if it wasn't important and Leo waved at Raph to back down. "What did you see Daniel?"

"I tink ol' Bucketnugget isa buildin' somethin'. Buildin' sometin' big. Couldn'ta get a good look, lots of ninja guards, but I did get a quick peek at it. Thought ya should know."

"Any idea what?"

"Somekinda machine ting."

" _That_ helps a lot." Raph mumbled.

"Isa can draw a picture iffa it'll help."

Leo got up from the table and scrounged up some paper and a few pencils for him before wordlessly handing them over. Daniel crammed the rest of his biscuit in his mouth before taking them and moving over to the counter. Leo watched over the small shoulder as Daniel drew and over the next few minutes a startling picture came into detail. Startling because he was damn good at drawing for such a young age and he captured every detail he could perfectly. It was also a picture that was beginning to look disturbingly familiar to him. "Donnie!" Leo snapped when Daniel was almost done with his creation.

Donnie came to stand by him and looked over the other shoulder, and stared at that picture a moment. "God damn it... Leo that's a portal...a large one."

"What can he bring through that?"

"Troops, maybe a few vehicles, some of his subs would definitely fit in there. It's not as large as the one he had originally planned, but it's still a fairly decent sized one."

"Shit..."

"We knew he was going to do it Leo." Mikey tried to calm him. "It was only a matter of time on when he was going to be able to."

"What are our chances of getting close to that thing to take it out?"

"I don' tink thada be a good idea Mr. Leonardo." Daniel spoke up. "I knows you guys are good at dat sneaky fightin' stuff...but he's got a whole buches of goons dere."

"A frontal assault would be risky." Donnie agreed. "If it's the only one of that size he has, then it's going to be very heavily guarded."

"So what do we do now?" Raph grumbled. "Just let him keep it?"

"We might not have a choice in the matter." Donnie answered him.

"Donnie..." Leo began quietly "how long would it take you to make us a portal, a small one?"

"A portal? Why on earth do you want me to make a portal?"

Leo looked at his direction, his eyes a combination of determined...and scared. "We all know where he is going. If we can't stop him here, then we need to stop him there."

"Are you fucking nuts!" Raph exploded. "Do you really want to go back there?"

"No, I don't. I full well know who is there and I have no desire to face them again."

"Going to be hard to do with two of them able to sniff us out like bloodhounds." Raph snapped back. "Or did you forget that little tidbit? As soon as we get over there they are going to be all over us like stink on Daniel over there!"

"Hey!"

"Shut up stinky!" Raph snapped back without missing a beat.

"What choice do we have. It's too dangerous to take out his. We'll just go over there and do the same thing we've been trying to do here, just be quieter about it."

Raph gave Leo a hard look that lasted awhile before he sighed. "Fine...but you better come up with something. I don't think they will wait long enough to give us time to explain if they catch us over there."

"Can you blame them? After everything we've done to them, the have every reason to feel the way they do about us."

"Whatdya do ta who Mr. Leonardo?" Daniel asked him curiously. The others were also looking at them, not knowing what they were talking about. For the simple reason it had never been discussed.

"Nothing you need to worry about little one." Leo told him with his own sigh.

Donnie had been looking thoughtful, tapping a finger on his chin. "I think I might be able to come up with something." He said quietly. "I was working on something before...things happened. I actually totally forgot about it until now. Maybe I can tweak it a bit until I can make some kind of shield. It's going to take me a couple of weeks to get it all together though."

Leo just nodded, not really much he could do about the delay.

"Oh! Sounds cool! Can I help ya Mr. Donatello?"

Donnie looked down at the boy and smiled slightly. "Yes, as a matter of fact you can."

"Really?"

"Yup. You can go take a bath before you make me fall over from your stink."

From the glare the little boy gave Donnie, Leo was pretty sure that wasn't what Daniel had in mind.


	36. Chapter 36

Raph was lifting his weights with more ferocity than usual. It had been a few days now and Donnie was hard at work trying to throw something together. Leo was waiting. Mikey was...doing whatever Mikey did nowadays. Raph was grunting under the weights he was lifting.

He was agitated, very agitated. Not that the feeling was unusual for him, but it was more than his usual grumpiness this time. Ever since Leo had told them of the plan to go back there, Raph felt it build in him. Growing stronger each day. He tried to work it out of his system, but it was growing increasingly more difficult to do so. And today it just wasn't working and the weights went flying across the dojo and landed with a loud clatter. "Damn it!" He snapped as he sat on the weight bench, elbows on his knees and head hung.

Unfortunately his little hissy fit didn't go unnoticed. "Having a bad day?" Holly asked as she walked in. He just grunted in reply as she drew closer. She stopped a few feet away, well out of smacking range in case if he lost his marbles, and tilted her head as she looked at him. "Want to talk about it?"

"No I don't want to talk about it." He said scathingly. "I just want you to leave me the hell alone."

She just rolled her eyes at him as she stubbornly sat on the floor. "You've been trying that for six years...and haven't managed to do it yet."

"Why do you insist on pestering the hell out of me Holly?" He asked her then, his tone almost whiny. "Is tormenting me really that much of entertainment for you?"

"Actually...no." She replied, her tone rarely serious. "But it's better than watching you torment yourself."

He brought his head up to fully look at her as she calmly sat there, her brown eyes unflinching. He wanted so much to deny what she just said, that he did no such thing. He was perfectly happy with the way things were...except he couldn't. And he knew she somehow knew it too.

This woman baffled him to no end. She was stubborn, hard headed, always tried to one up him in any conversation and a lot of times he wished she would just keep her damn mouth shut. She had the uncanny ability to snap him out of his most violent shitfits, and did so without an ounce of fear in her. Raph didn't know how to take it, because he had no idea to handle anyone really who wasn't scared of him. Fear drove people to respect him. He had used it for so long to get what he wanted that he still didn't really know how to get by without trying to intimidate others. But there were a few who his raging temper tantrums had no effect on what so ever. Lotus, Daniel, James and Holly all just rolled their eyes when he went off of the deep end, but they didn't fear him. And they all very well should, because he still couldn't fully control those outbursts. Yet this one in front of him time and time again was able to find the off switch. He had no fucking clue how she did it either. And that creeped the hell out of him because _he_ couldn't even stop himself. If he were completely honest about it, which of course with him being him he never would be, he was dependent on her.

Another thing that creeped him out was the fact that she was always _there_. Watching him when she thought he didn't notice. But he did notice. It wasn't the fact that she did it that had his head in a scuzzy, it was the fact that despite all of his grumbling over it all...he didn't mind it. Her reassuring presence eased his mind somewhat, not a lot, but enough to where he noticed it. Add in the fact that she genuinely seemed to care about him, even after he repeatedly made a silly ass of himself, and he didn't know what to hell to think.

"You going to talk to me or are you just going to sit there and stare?" She asked with a brow shooting up.

"Nothin' to talk about." He mumbled as he stood up to go retrieve the weights he threw a few moments ago.

"Nothing you _want_ to talk about." She firmly corrected. "You stubbornly refuse to do that."

He slammed the weights back into their spot with frustration. Not this conversation again...she's been badgering him about this pretty much since she joined them. "Listen here you fucking twatwaffle!" He snapped as he spun back around. "There is nothing going on that you need to concern yourself with!"

"Twatwaffle!" She flared as she got back to her feet. "Who are you calling a twatwaffle!" She stomped closer to him, stopping right in front of him and placing her hands on her hips.

"You...you twatwaffle." He grumbled right back. "What the hell ya goin' do about it?"

She kicked him in the shin. "Asshole!" Her brown eyes flashed.

"Stubborn bitch." He growled.

"Hothead."

"Nosy cunt!"

"Dick for brains!"

"Crazy hag!"

"Hag?! You fucking jolly green giant!"

"Look who's talking! You have to stick your head in an oven to get it that color? Or did you fall into a bucket of rust when you were a baby?"

"Fork fucking, ass chewing cunt wipe!"

He just stared down at her as she refused to back down from him. Her hands were on her hips still, her eyes filled with anger and she looked like she was ready to try and beat the shit out of him. Raph couldn't explain the feeling that washed over him next, couldn't stop himself as he snarled and reached out for her, lifted her up and slamming her into the wall. Before she could even protest, or smack him, his head had made it's way to hers and his lips crushed against hers. What shocked him the most was...she kissed him right back... Her arms snaked around his neck as his tongue pushed into her mouth, and was eagerly met by hers.

"Ahem..." They both broke away from each other with a start as Lotus moved into the dojo. "Master Raphael, Masters Donatello and Leonardo wish to see you in the lab." She was calm, as if what she had just seen didn't bother her a bit. But there was something in her eyes, a sadness and longing. "At your earliest convenience of course." She finished as she turned and walked back out again.

Raph closed his eyes, embarrassed. Embarrassed at getting caught, but also for what he just did. "I'm sorry..." He mumbled as he followed Lotus out. "I shouldn't have... Damn it..." He finished in a whisper. Holly didn't say anything, but her eyes were thoughtful as she watched him leave, then made her own way to the lab.

"What?" He flately asked as he walked in, his mood not exactly the best right now.

"He's finished with the portal." His older brother replied. Raph noticed that Mikey was also already there along with James and Lotus. Her expression was still calm, but her eyes...even Raph noticed the sadness in them. But they weren't looking at him, they were glued to the leader of their little group. "Take the time to gather everything you may need and be ready in a few hours. We'll go over and scout everything out first before we bring the ninjas over."

Donnie walked around and handed the turtles a small device, instructing them how to turn it on. "These are small, portable shields. They should keep us hidden from them until we can find a suitable location for me to build a larger one. Don't lose them, that's all I've had a chance to make."

"Two hours. Then we meet back here."

With quick affirming nods they all left the lab and Raph walked to his room, closed the door behind him and sat on his bed. What the fuck did he just do? Why on earth did he do that? What had fucking possessed him to fucking _kiss_ her?!

"We never did finish our conversation." Holly said quietly as she entered.

Raph just groaned as he dropped his head into his hands. "I wasn't comfortable with the way it was going." He snapped at her.

"Wasn't talking about that part." She gave him a half smile. "I'm still waiting for you to tell me what's bothering you overall. Been waiting six years for it, and I'm not about to leave it alone until you tell me."

He brought his head up and stared at her and she calmly stared right back. "You wouldn't understand..."

"And I never will if you don't make the effort to tell me." She simply replied. "Honestly Raph, what would it hurt? Besides talking about something that obviously brings bad memories and bad feelings to the surface. But then...maybe if you actually let them out of that dark closet, shook them out a bit and held them up to the light, you'd see how full of holes they really are."

"Easy for you to say." He grumbled. "You never had to witness the shit I did."

"Would you rather have me as your babysitter for the rest of your life?" She bluntly asked him. "We both know that's why Leonardo keeps sending me out with you. Wouldn't it give you so much more freedom to be able to come and go as you please? Without having to worry about snapping all the time? Wouldn't that be better for the team as a whole?"

He really couldn't deny that. So far he had been lucky that they had never got separated, but they were going into a new world for her, who knows what could happen with this new situation. And honestly...he was tired of carrying this around with him. He also trusted her. A fact that came from her being by his side during every conflict. She was always there to snap him out of his rampages, she had seen him at his worst...and she still kissed him back earlier... His mouth opened up to talk before his mind could even tell it to shut the hell up.

"You were right that night you first joined us." He began, dropping his head into his palm, his green eyes glued to the floor. "I am scared." His throat almost closed up as that admission finally came out.

"Of what?"

"Everything..." He took a deep breath. "I was scared of the path we took, the unknown. I was scared that we were just delaying the inevitable, that around every corner the possibility of it being the last corner we scramble around. I was scared of us getting caught in something we couldn't handle, and I was scared that the only way to truly survive here was to beg him for mercy and return to his service."

"You said was." She said as she tilted her head. "I'm assuming that's not the case anymore?"

He shook his head. "No, it's not. I still wonder sometimes if we made the right choice, not because I feel like we didn't, but because I feel like ever since we started on this path our lives seem to be more and more at risk."

"And the ones you help still don't really see what you are trying to do..."

He just shrugged. "It seemed like a wasted effort to me. Why help those who seemed like they didn't want it?"

She walked closer and sat next to him on the bed. "But that's not what's bothering you now."

He took in a deep breath as he looked at her again. "Holly...you don't know what happened to us over there. We had been changed. If you thought we were monsters before, that was nothing compared to what happened to us. I...really don't remember much to be honest, just periods of rage and lust to kill. But one image is stuck in my head that I can't shake. I don't know why...but it's there. And I'm scared to face my counterpart because of it... They risk everything to help us...and I stab his woman in the chest. I could feel his pain, his anguish, his rage. I saw her hit the floor with the weapon I used to do it still stuck in her. And I couldn't stop it...I almost killed her...but I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it... Holly, how can I go back and face them after that?"

"The same way I have to face my counterpart." Leo said as he walked in the room. "You don't know what I did to her Raph. I never told you...but I honestly have no right to go back there expecting forgiveness from her, or him." His own eyes looked so lost and full of self loathing as he stopped next to them. "And I was in full control of my actions, you weren't."

Holly looked at both of them thoughtfully a moment. "I think I understand. Both of you, all of you in fact, are so overcome with grief, and guilt at what you did and are still punishing yourselves over it." Her eyes met Leo's. "And are punishing yourselves harder than you should. And you also fear that your counterparts would remember what you did and not see what you are trying to do. Maybe that is true, maybe they will. But what better way to repay for what you have done to them, than to try and help them with this now. Imagine the burden you all would bear if you didn't even try, and he wins."

"It's why I decided to go." Leo quietly admitted to her. "I at least owe them this much, but it's still nothing compared to the overall price."

Raph nodded in quiet agreement as Leo walked back out of the room, onward to his own to gather his things. Once again leaving the two alone. Holly's hand reach out and gently turned Raph's head to face her. "Fear is nothing to be ashamed of Raphael. We all have them. But it's also up to us to learn how to deal with them. Know I'll be there with you if you need me, but maybe it's time you showed those fears you are stronger by facing them. No one knows what will happen when we go over there, but I do hope you get the chance to work this out. Just like I hope the others have a chance." Then she smiled and kissed his cheek. "We'll talk about that other thing later, but know I'm not upset about it. Was wondering when you would catch on honestly..."

Raph looked at her with a combination of relief, gratitude and something else he didn't know how to name. He just reached out and pulled her close to him, bringing his face into her red hair. "Thank you cupcake..."

The room was quiet as he held her. Nothing else was said, but he noticed a quiet shift in himself. He still didn't want to face them, but found himself hoping he could get the chance. The chance to prove that he was indeed worthy to live a life like they did. Lord knows he tried to prove it to himself often enough.


	37. Chapter 37

**Takes place during Chapter 1 of "Future Realities".**

"Get down!" Leo hissed at them and they all ducked behind whatever cover they could find. They had literally just crossed over and barely started out scouting when fate had decided to test them. By sending in the very beings they were trying to avoid. Leo had luckily spotted them a few rooftops over and was now desperately hoping that these little shields would work, because he really wasn't up to trying to explain. Probably because he knew they wouldn't give him the chance.

Leo quietly watched as they maneuvered the rooftops with ease, no doubt from countless years of practice.

"Who is the fourth woman with them?" Raph asked curiously as he watched by Leo's side.

"I'm not sure..." Leo replied, staring hard at her a long while before it clicked and his eyes grew wide. Was this the little girl he had seen that first time they met? Was this the child that he had almost killed when he took her mother away? The spunky little tyke who blew raspberries at him and shot him the bird that time in Bishop's storeroom? Had so much time really passed that she was now grown? And competent enough by the way it looked to accompany them out on missions. "It's her daughter..." He told Raph stunned. "Vicky's daughter..."

"Didn't she also have a son?" Raph asked curiously as they watched the group move away.

"Yes, but I don't see him."

They stayed hidden for awhile, well after the other group had left before Leo moved out of his concealment. Lotus was standing next to him, both of them looking in the direction the others had gone. "So, those are the ones you had been sent to destroy?"

Leo sighed, he had filled the others in completely on who exactly they were, and what had gone on between them. It had been so painful to do it, but needed to be done so the others fully understood what was here. "Yes Lotus. Those are the ones."

"Creepy on how much you guys look alike." Holly muttered.

Leo just turned away and began to head out in the opposite direction. He wasn't about to risk coming even close to them. This encounter had been close enough. Too close for his liking.

They moved on deeper into the city, looking for anything that would give them a clue of the ones they were searching for here.

"It's so...different." Holly murmured in wonder as they moved. "To see all of these people move around, with no fear in them..."

"They don't have the reason to fear that the souls in our world have." Leo told her. "Certain events played out differently here than there."

"Though this place has it's own demons." Raph grumbled.

"True, but it also has a group that keeps them in check." Leo replied quietly. "Not one that aids them."

Silence took hold of the group after that, all of them knowing the meaning behind the statement. What would their home be like if the turtles hadn't followed the path they did? Leo shook his head to clear those thoughts. He would never know, all he could do now was try and do something about it now.

Suddenly Donnie called a whispered halt, his eyes narrowed as he zeroed in on something going on in the street below. "Look." He whispered harshly, his hand pointing.

"Hun." Raph rumbled.

They all ducked down behind the parapet and watched as the large man walked into one of the buildings after kicking the door in. "Well that was surprisingly easy." Donnie said quietly as they all ducked down again.

"What's he doing?" Mikey asked as they kept watching. Some men had apparently come with him and they were all piling into the same building Hun had entered a few moments earlier.

"Looks like he is breaking in." Raph replied as they watched.

"Should we stop them?" Mikey seemed unsure about it.

Leo was unsure himself. No doubt stopping whatever was going on here would be a good thing, but he really didn't want to make their presence known just yet. He didn't have a secure place to retreat too, nor the forces with him to take on this many. While he still puzzled this out, he blinked in astonishment as _another_ turtle jumped into the fray. Who was _this_ yahoo? Before he could even form the words into the obvious question, _more_ turtles came diving in to help the first. What in the hell... Where did they come from? And who were they? And why are they jumping into a fight they obviously were not going to win? Skill they did have, Leo could tell by the way they fought, but they were just as obviously inexperienced as they bumbled around. Reminded him of his early mission days actually...when his brawn was talking more than his brain was. He learned the hard way to change his thinking around and to not blunder into these scenarios.

"Leo?" Raph asked as they watched, then met his older brothers eyes. "What are we going to do?"

"We should help them." Mikey spoke up quietly. "It...feels right to help them..."

Leo looked curiously at his little brother, he was actually feeling the same thing. Something was screaming out at him to go down there and help them. They couldn't even go back up the way they came because the rooftops were now covered with more of Hun's men. They were trapped.

He pulled out his katanas and was about to get to his feet when Donnie pulled him right back down again. "What the hell Donnie?" Leo snapped at him.

"It going to be taken care of." Was the reply. "It would be best if we stayed hidden."

"What?"

Donnie looked up from his wrist device, his eyes now searching the horizon before his eyes narrowed. "There."

Leo looked, straining his eyes in the darkness and distance, but soon enough the object of their attention closed in rapidly. He could now clearly make out their counterparts as they raced along the rooftops towards the turtles below. The humans didn't accompany them this time, and they moved much quicker than before, in a straight line towards their goal. They barreled through Hun's men on the rooftops with hardly any effort and plunged into the ally below without hesitation. Ripping into Hun and his men who now had the other group of turtles cornered.

Gauging from the way things were going down there, their counterparts knew this group and was allied with them. Soon enough they broke out of the ally, with Michelangelo holding one of the smaller ones in his arms. A female by the way it looked. They ran along the darkened street a bit before they outpaced the mob chasing them, then went back up to the rooftops, heading off in another direction and soon disappeared from sight.

"Well, that was...interesting." Donnie mumbled as things calmed back down again.

"Any idea who these others are?" Leo asked him.

"No clue." Came the reply. "And I wasn't about to give us away trying to scan and find out."

Leo just looked thoughtfully in the distance that they had disappeared in before turning his attention back to the matter at hand. "Follow him." His attention now firmly fixed onto Hun.

They silently slid over the rooftops as they tailed the large man. Leo keeping as much an eye on his target as well as his surroundings. Twice now they had come dangerously close to being seen by their counterparts, he wasn't about to go for a third time.

Having the two women with them did slow them a bit, having to help them along if some gaps were too large for them to cross on their own, but not enough to where this group couldn't keep up.

After some time, Hun entered another building. This one by walking right in. Leo skidded to a stop and hunkered down again as the others crouched down all around him.

"Big place." Raph muttered as he looked it over.

"Very big." Mikey agreed.

"Busy too." Holly pointed to the ninjas crawling all over the place along with what appeared to be Hun's men.

Leo took all of this in, more than a little worried. They had obviously brought more men in than he had thought. He was now unsure if their small band would be enough. For a brief moment he considered reaching out to his counterparts. This was their world, it would make sense if he did do so. He was also wise enough to know that just because they parted ways under a truce, that it very may well not be the same now. Once again his past was making his present difficult to deal with.

Another thing was bothering him with that thought. As much as he wanted to contact them, how much pain would resurface in Vicky at what he had done, in her mate, in himself? Would he even get the chance to explain? He quickly shied away from that idea as quickly as it crossed his mind. He honestly was scared to even try. Scared of the doors that may be reopened from it, and he didn't want to walk down those dark halls.

"Master?" Lotus touched his arm and Leo realised that she had been talking to him and shook himself out of his thoughts. "Are you alright."

"Not really." He honestly replied as he looked down at her. "I know we need to do this, but I really don't want to be here." He admitted quietly to her.

"I understand." Her voice just as quiet, their eyes meeting. Something stirred in his stomach as that gaze held, she was so close, he could see the thoughts running clearly in her eyes as she looked up at him. Running through everything he had told her of what happened here and they were full of understanding as her calm presence soothed him. She at least didn't judge him for what he had done. Leo would forever be grateful for that. He brought his hand up and placed it over hers that was still on his arm and she smiled slightly.

"So what do we do?" Raph broke the moment and didn't even notice as he looked at the building.

Leo pulled his hand away from Lotus' to turn to reply, and caught the flash of disappointment in her eyes, accompanied with a small sigh. "We need to scope it out." Leo replied, then eyed Lotus curiously, what was wrong with her? She seemed...sad...

"Unadvisable for us to go in." Donnie murmured. "Wouldn't be good if we got caught in there."

"Especially with no back up." Raph agreed.

Silence took hold of them as they tried to figure this puzzle out before Lotus broke it. "I will go." She firmly said as she started to get to her feet.

"You will do no such thing!" Leo snapped, also coming to his. "It's too dangerous!"

"That may be so, but it needs to be done."

"I won't allow it." Leo growled as he tried to stare her down. Was like staring at a rock though, it wasn't going to budge.

"You can not stop me." She calmly told him.

"The hell I can't!" He couldn't explain the reason really, he just didn't want her to go. He told himself that it was because he wouldn't be able to go and get her, but that really wasn't it. His mind refused to go into the true reason, even as it screamed at him to quit being an idiot over it. "I'll tie your ass up!"

She just looked at him amused, then easily backflipped off the side of the building. Leo let out a strangled cry as he started to lunge after her, but found himself being pulled back by Raph and Donnie. "Stop it!" Raph snapped.

"She does have a better chance," Donnie added "but not if you go bumbling after her."

"Well, if that's the case..." Holly grinned, then she flipped off too.

"Son of a _bitch!_ " This time it was Leo and Donnie holding Raph as he was about to jump off after her. Mikey watched all three of them amused before he turned back to what was going on with a slight chuckle.

Leo was furious, but he did hold back and settled down to watch, and wait. His sharp eyes caught them quickly as they approached the building, both with their heads now covered. Then they just calmly joined up with the other ninjas scattered around and walked right in. Leo's jaw dropped. He didn't even think of that...


	38. Chapter 38

It was nearly dawn when the two women finally came back out, and Leo was still fuming. They quickly trotted away from the building before disappearing in an alley down the street a bit. Leo got up from his spot and moved in the same direction and caught up with them just as they were reaching the rooftops. She just returned that furious glare with a calm gaze after she pulled off her mask, shaking her hair out. Leo's admonishment stuck in his throat as he watched that. He swallowed the uncomfortable lump that had suddenly formed in his throat down before he snapped himself out of it. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't beat you." He grumbled as he stormed up to them.

"Because we succeeded so there is no need for punishment." She replied without flinching as she tossed something to Donnie. "We have gathered the information needed and have determined the layout of the building."

"Place is pretty big and it does seem to be his current hideout." Holly added as her mask came off next. "If we do ever have to go in, at least we'll know what to expect."

"Still doesn't excuse you two for pulling that shit!" Raph flared at her, his green eyes furious.

"Not the place to have that discussion guys." Donnie broke up the lecture before Leo could add his next comment.

Leo bit back his anger, gave Lotus one last glare before he nodded. "We need to find somewhere to establish our own base. Preferably somewhere nearby so we can keep tabs on him."

"Then let's get crackin'." Mikey led the way this time in the predawn light and the others began to follow him.

All but Leo as he reached out and firmly grabbed his disobedient follower's arm. "Lotus, please... Don't do that again." He told her, his voice now strangely gentle with her with them alone up there. He was still furious, but he should have known she would pull this kind of stunt. "I've come to value you very much over the years, I don't know what I would do without you now..." His voice trailed off as he looked into her eyes again. Again he was overcome with that feeling he really couldn't describe. Something he's never felt before she came into his life but was rapidly becoming commonplace when he dealt with her. "Please don't make me find out."

"Would you rather be by my side then when I do these things Master?" She replied, her eyes mischievous as she looked up at him...lord those eyes...

"If it needs to be that way then, yes. I would rather risk detection rather than letting you go off alone like that."

Something in that firm statement made her eyes widen, then soften again. "Very well. I shall refrain from doing so in the future. No more shall I worry you."

He almost snorted. There was no way in hell he believed that for an instant, because he suddenly realised he would worry every time she wasn't in his line of sight. He just sighed and let her arm go before he followed the others, Lotus now by his side. He liked that thought...Lotus by his side... He shook his head. What in the hell was _wrong_ with him?

.

.

Raph was still pissed when they found this building. An old, now abandoned building. It looked like it had been a small hotel at one time, or maybe an office building. Now it was in shambles, but it was enough for what they needed. The roof didn't look like it leaked anyway. It was also fairly close to Hun's base which was what cemented the place in their heads after the first initial look over.

Leo had given Donnie the ok to open a portal here and the genius pulled out his shielded portable teleporter thingie and did just that.

"'Bout damn time!" James grumbled as he stepped through, with the first few ninjas following him. "Was starting to get worried."

"Join the club." Raph growled at him before glaring at Holly.

James caught the look and raised his brow at his little sister. "Got into trouble again?"

She shrugged back. "I'm always in trouble."

Leo had then sent the humans out to gather the things they would need while Donnie set up a shield for the place, got the lights working and running water. In just a couple of days they had a fully functional, if a bit run down, place to hide.

Didn't settle Raph's mood at all though. He was still irritable, and angry, over what the females did. He was now stomping around their new base, muttering under his breath with every mini quake. "Stupid, pain in my ass, non listening-"

"Talking to yourself again?" Holly asked as she appeared next to him, keeping pace with his stride.

"Better that talking to you." His hard stare looked down at her. "Because you never fucking listen."

She just grinned up at him. "Well...to be fair...you never told me not to go."

"You never gave me the chance!"

"I know... Worked out pretty good."

His eyes flashed in anger. Raph snarled as he grabbed her arm and drug her into the next room, which was at the moment unoccupied. He slammed the door behind him and then she ended up against the wall, lifted up off of the ground with her feet dangling as he held her up by her shoulders so he could look her straight in the eye. "Damn it Holly!" He growled. "This isn't a fucking game!"

"Never said it was." She didn't even flinch from all of that, even as she found herself still up off the floor. "But I wasn't going to let her go in alone and you guys obviously couldn't stop her."

"That doesn't mean you had to pull that stunt!"

"Didn't see any of you coming up with a bright idea." She crossed her arms, still dangling.

"Holly..." Raph's tone changed, from furious to gentle as he closed his eyes. "I need you. You know that... What would happen to me if you got hurt...or worse. I can't control this without you."

Her eyes had softened by the time he got control of himself to open his again. "Raphael..." She brought her hand up to his cheek, was pretty easy to do since he still had her lifted up off of the ground. "Is that what's been bothering you these last two days?"

He just nodded, not trusting himself to speak at that moment. Their eyes held each other, neither one of them breaking the hold. "I need you Holly..." He finally struggled out. "Don't...don't...do that..."

He was a little stunned when her grip on his cheek grew firm and she pulled his face to hers. Their lips met and he lost himself in the soft touch of her. His hold on her shifted from her shoulders to under her thighs as he still held her against the wall, the kisses growing more heated. Holly's arms had wrapped firmly around his neck by then, her hand pushing him more into her.

It was with regret when he moved his head away from her, his breathing heavy as he looked into her eyes again. She just looked calmly back up at him, her eyes afire with something he was feeling himself. It was her hands that started to wander first, gently undoing the belt at his waist.

Uncertainty hit him now, he wasn't sure if he could...do that to her... "Holly...I don't know..." His voice rumbled, full of doubt.

"Hush." She told him as she kept at it, then slipped her hand inside.

He shuddered as her hand ran over his slit, purely by accident because she really didn't know what she was doing he could tell from her confused expression.

"I don't know if I can...do this the way you want me too. I've never been gentle about it..." He had to fight back the images coming into his head, the fear in those women, the screams... He closed his eyes and turned his head away from her. "I can't..."

He was about to put her down when her arms went around his neck again. "Look at me." Came her whispered command. Those whispered words held more power to him than the memories and he found himself looking back at her. "I've heard the stories, and I don't care about them. That was then, this is now. I am offering this to you, freely. Take it."

"Holly..."

"Take it." She said again. "Give yourself a memory to fight back with. Use this to heal."

"You are doing this...for me?"

She smiled. "Not entirely." Then she came back in and kissed him. Eagerly, hungry and Raph was finding it difficult to think. "I've been wanting this myself for a long time."

She...wanted him? She... His arms were trembling by the time that fully sunk in. Trembling from the rush of emotions he was dealing with, and didn't know how. He honestly didn't know what to do.

Her brown eyes were boring into him as she moved her hips against him. "Take it..." She whispered.

With a low growl his head came back in as he pushed her against the wall, now holding her up with his body. She met that kiss head on and kissed him back just as hard as he did her.

His large hands fumbled with her belt and pants a bit before he calmed himself enough to get them undone, then with a little juggling he pulled them off even as he still held her. His eyes locked onto that pale skin underneath and his breathing was coming in heavy, rasping pants now. Her skin was so soft...

He slipped a finger in those inviting folds and was rewarded by her moan. This was so much different... So different to have a woman actually want him instead of him forcing himself on her. To see her respond to his touch, to want more of it... Never had he thought...

Without any feelings of shame, she pulled her top off and removed the bra that was underneath. Raph swallowed hard as his eyes wandered. "Beautiful..." He choked out.

Her reply was to kiss him again, pressing her body against his. "And it's yours."

Raph was struggling, her naked body against him was doing things to him he had never experienced before. And her hand was down there again... A churr came out of his throat at her caress and she looked at him amused. "Never heard that noise before."

"N-n-never have e-either..." He stuttered, trying to focus around the sensations of her touch.

"Ok, I give up..." She muttered as her hand wandered again. "Where is it?"

Raph swallowed hard, he knew exactly what 'it' she was talking about. Doubt filled him again at that thought. "Holly..." Her hand brushed against him again, harder this time, cutting off the protest before it even started. His whole body shuddered and he ended up dropping into her palm.

"Oh, there it is. _Hel_ -lo..." Her eyes had grown wide in astonishment as she looked at it for the first time. She was obviously not expecting something that big.

Raph thought it might be too big as he looked at her small frame. "I'm scared I'll hurt you." He admitted as her face wandered back up.

"You won't." Was the calm reassurance as her hips ground against him.

He groaned as she moved. Before he knew what he was doing he was lifting her over him. "Easy..." She whispered as he lowered her. "Take it slo- _ooow_..." Her head flew back as he filled her. "Oh dear god!"

He had to force himself not to be to rough with her, had to remind himself he wasn't that way anymore. He pushed gently into her, the slick flesh felt so tight around him. His eyes wide, breathing heavy, he looked deep into her eyes. Looking for any signs of pain and found none. Pleasure was the only thing he saw. He thrust again and her arms clung to him as she cried out. "Raph..."

Wonder filled him at her reaction. Never had he had a woman...pleased by this. Never had he had this experience. She clung to him. "It...doesn't hurt?"

"Far from it." She breathed. "Go faster."

With her soft, whispered guidance, his confidence grew. He could give her this and do so without hurting her. Her whimpers, moans and soft cries filled his ears as he quickened the pace.

Suddenly her eyes opened and looked at him. "Let it all out." She told him. "The fear, the anger, the past. Now is the chance...let it out..."

"I...I-"

"Do it..."

Raph snarled as he pushed into her again, harder this time. Almost as if his mind couldn't resist her command, the feelings of fear came to him. Fear of what they were wanting to do, the fear of them dying trying to do it. The fear of change he still couldn't shake. The anger that came with it, causing his uncontrollable outbursts. The continued unacceptance from almost everyone they come across. Those they have helped, their counterparts here, all of it. He was ramming into her now as that unthinking monster tried to take control. So much like the monster that had almost killed Cris, his counterpart's lover.

Harder he pushed into her, her cries growing more frantic as the tension built up in him, wanting out. He didn't want that anymore. He didn't want these demons to follow him. He couldn't do what needed to be done with the uncertainty there. He just wanted to be normal god damn it! Not a damn beast on a chain! Even if the chain was a warm, panting woman that was squirming from what he was doing. No, he didn't want this anymore. No more!

Her pushed into her, the hardest thrust yet and her body exploded. Her arms and legs clamped around him as she screamed out into the room. Her muscles clamped down around him and he released himself in her with a loud groan. He shuddered as he filled her before almost collapsing against the wall on top of her. He barely got a hand out to support himself as his other arm held her to him. A hold he wasn't ready to let go of yet.

He slid to the floor with her before placing her in his lap, holding her to him. What...just happened... What did he just do? He looked down at her in wonder and saw her tired eyes looking back up at him. There wasn't pain there, no fear. Just...happiness. "Now you have something else to focus on instead of what was in your mind. Keep it, use it, hold it close to you." Then her eyes drifted shut and she fell asleep.

He blinked back away tears as she did. For the first time he wasn't burdened with everything that made his life such a burden. Raph shifted her around so she was leaning against his chest as she slept on. His eyes still watering as he did. He still had a chain around him, but this one was different. This one was wrapped around his heart and connected to this small woman in his arms. That chain he didn't mind so much.


	39. Chapter 39

**The next chapters will now follow along with "Future Realities" starting at Chapter 11.**

Raph was still befuddled a few days later. He had no idea how in the hell she had managed to get him to...do that... He shook his head, trying to clear it, but couldn't. The memory of her against him stayed with him no matter how hard he tried. Which really wasn't very hard honestly.

His was just, dumbstruck. Was the only way he could phrase it. It was like she just came out of the blue and gave herself to him. He didn't expect it, never hoped for it and wasn't even sure if he could. Not after what he did to all those other women.

He was still filled with wonder as he looked down at her as she walked by his side, both of them having been called to meet up with the others. Why did she even want a monster like him? They hadn't...done it again since then. Mainly because things were starting to pick up to the point where they hadn't had the chance, and he wasn't going to push it right now even if they did, but it really didn't bother him. He still held that one time in his memory, cherished it, held onto it. That was one memory he willingly held onto. That one time was so special to him, he honestly didn't have that need again.

They also hadn't told anyone what the current situation was between them. Raph just somehow knew this wasn't the time to be blurting that out to everyone, even if he did want to keep his hand locked in hers. He also didn't mind it when she snuck into his room when she could, just to lay with him as she slept. Overall...it was...comforting... A feeling he wasn't used too.

Something had also changed in him. He felt different now. Not so full of the conflicting emotions that had hampered him in the past. There was another feeling there, and he didn't even begin to know how to describe it, or understand it. What did she do to him?

"About time you got here." James mumbled when they finally entered the large room where the rest were gathered. "Shit's getting interesting."

"Oh?" Holly inquired as she stepped closer.

"They are on the move." Donnie said as he looked up from the small computer they had scrounged up. "A large group of them."

"Any idea what they are up too?"

"No good." The usually quiet Mikey spoke up.

"I can tell that much." Holly rolled her eyes.

"It's time we found out." Leo growled quietly. "Get everyone ready to move."

Lotus, James and Holly dashed out the door as the turtles followed them at a slower pace.

Donnie was the last one to catch up to them as he detoured by a shelf to grab a few things off of it. "Since they are using the paralyzers, we might need these."

Leo gave a curt nod as they kept moving.

The paralysers was one of the things they had found out about from the unwanted base infiltration. That and they had completed Donnie's research and now had shields of their own. It was looking more and more like they were going to have to contact their counterparts, because they were the obvious targets to all of this. But none of them had the courage to bring that up.

"Raph...I need to know," Leo said as they walked amongst the bustling ninjas as they gathered and got ready "can you handle this?" They both knew what he was getting at, it wasn't the first time he lost his marbles out on a mission. Leo knew they couldn't afford for that to happen here. So far the turtles themselves had avoided conflict, but stayed in the background as Lotus led her league of minions. Nearby incase they were needed but far enough away to keep from being detected, so Raph hadn't had a chance really yet to put his new feelings to the test. He knew, just as Leo did, that watching in the background wasn't going to be enough this time.

Raph took a deep breath, his eyes searching and finding that mop of red hair in the crowd before it was covered up with a mask. After what happened between them, he was now confident when he answered. "I can."

Leo raised a questioning eyeridge at him, but didn't comment on it any further.

.

.

"Where are they going?" Holly asked as they crouched down, watching the large group of Spencer's toys move out.

"Only one way to find out." Raph answered her and got up and followed them.

Leo was right behind him, even pulled up beside his brother as they ran side by side. Both of them keeping an eye on the swiftly moving robots. Their brothers, friends and the ninjas following close behind. They easily kept pace with the squad of walking tin cans.

They didn't hesitate a moment when they finally caught sight of what the possible target for tonight likely was, Leo just pushed himself quicker as he spotted the two turtles from this world, and the ambush that was about to take place. "Send them in!" He snapped at Lotus who gave him a quick nod and led her ninjas intercept. Her ninjas hit that rooftop the same time Hun's men did.

Leo was close enough now to see that the targets were Michelangelo and one of the unknown turtles from before, another female. The orange masked turtle took everything in a glance and quickly led his companion away, in the opposite direction, as they tried to escape. Leo wanted to scream in frustration, because they were headed in the opposite direction.

"Let's move!" He barked out to his brothers instead and quickly moved along to follow. He had no choice now, he had to reveal his presence to them if he wanted to save them. They didn't know about the robots waiting for them in the ally below, he did. Even as he watched as he ran, they tried to escape to over the next rooftop, and the robots hit them both while they were still over the ally. They both fell and a moment later the noise of their landing reached Leo's ears.

"Damn it!" He spat as he pushed himself faster. "No, no, _no!_ "

"Shut your yapper and _move!_ " Raph put on a burst of speed and Leo followed suit.

They didn't even stop to look as they reached the edge where they disappeared too and flipped right over, both easily hitting the ground below in crouches...but the turtles were already gone from this spot, being dragged to an already waiting van.

Leo was already back up and on his feet even as his other two brothers hit the ground behind him. He fought his way past the robots now between him and his target, his eyes watching as the turtles were loaded up into the van. By the time he finally broke through, the van had already been closed and was beginning to pull away. Leo snarled as he sheathed his katanas and ran even faster, he wasn't going to let it!

With a wild leap, he somehow managed to get a grip on the now rapidly moving van. For an even better grip, he pulled out a kunai and slammed them into the backdoor he was barely hanging on. Now that he had something to hold on to, his other hand began to try and get the damn doors to open.

Suddenly there was a sai embedded into the metal next to him and just as suddenly Raph was there next to him.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?"

"No I haven't!" Leo replied, even as the van began to swerve a bit. Probably because the driver now knew they were there. Well, that someone was there at least.

Then there was a thud on the top. "Master Leonardo...how can you admonish me for these acts of foolishness, then go out and commit one yourself?"

He groaned. "Not now Lotus!" He snapped, even as he still tried to get that damn door open.

Raph just rolled his eyes, then ripped it open with a yank. It came off and Leo had to fling himself out of the way so it could pass him, then it it the road, bouncing and clattering away.

He looked inside and the first thing he saw was the two turtles on the floor of the van, both of them unconscious. One was definitely Michelangelo, the other one made him stop and stare. It was a female, that much he had been able to determine earlier. But he wasn't expecting her to be so young. She couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen. And her features seemed hauntingly familiar to him, but he couldn't place it. Not right now anyway, had robots moving in on him.

With a low, angry growl, Leo began to pull out some more kunai to chunk at them, but he knew they were to close for him to get the throw in. Until Lotus decided she wanted to help. She came swinging in from the roof, feet leading and narrowly missing his head before she slammed into them, knocking them to the front of the van. Leo changed tactics then, instead of worrying about the robots, he made a wild grab for Michelangelo's foot which was barely in his reach. Grabbed it, and yanked the body towards him.

"Take him!" He snapped at Raph. "I'm going to try and get the other one."

Raph just nodded even as the hand reached out and a moment later he had the turtle in his grip. "Go!" Leo snapped at him again and Raph was gone, bouncing and tumbling on the road, but he held the turtle secure in his grip.

He turned back to see Lotus fighting to get the smaller turtle closer to him but was struggling with her weight. She was obviously heavier than Lotus had expected and Leo figured that it was the weight of her shell that was dragging Lotus down. It wasn't nearly as large as his, but it was obviously to heavy for the slender Lotus to manage, even as hard as she was trying.

He was about to enter the van when the robots closed in on her, and one actually managed to get a shot in. Leo's eyes grew wide as he seemed to take it in what happened in slow motion. The squiggly blue beam moved through the air before it impacted against her chest, knocking her away from the downed turtle. She literally flew past him and out the door and Leo had a split second to choose the turtle here or Lotus who would be seriously hurt, or even killed, if she hit the pavement.

He launched himself off of the van and caught her before she impacted before he himself hit the road in a roll that turned into several. He was groaning in pain when he finally rolled to a stop, with Lotus limp in his arms. He groaned again as he got up and quickly carried her out of sight and into a nearby alley, worry gnawing at him with each step.

Leo finally got her to something resembling safety and knelt down on the ground as he gently set her down. "Lotus?" She didn't respond as he gently shook her.

His hand brushed her hair out her face. "Lotus, please..." He felt something hit him hard in the gut as her still body stayed still. "Please little flower..." He quickly checked for a pulse and was relieved to find one.

A moment later her dark eyes blinked open and she looked up at him. "That was not the intended result."

Relief flooded him as he shook his head. "You think?"

"Apparently I did not at that moment." She struggled to get up, but Leo could tell her legs weren't wanting to co-operate, all she got from her efforts were a few twitches. Now they knew for certain that the robots were equipped with paralysers.

He just picked her up and started heading back to where he left the others, her body cradled gently in his arms. He would take her back to Donnie and he would fix it. He looked down at her as she leaned her head against his chest, and he could hear the sigh that came from her. Why on earth would she sound content, happy even, just because she was getting a free ride? Or maybe the more troubling question was...was was he so content to carry her?


	40. Chapter 40

He had found Mikey and Donnie relatively easily, mainly because they were heading this way looking for their missing brothers. "Well that was pretty stupid." Donnie mumbled as they all met up with each other. "But I see you were able to grab one of them."

"And only the one." Leo sighed. "We failed in retrieving the other." He shifted Lotus around in his arms a bit as he walked on. "We need to get them back. It's too exposed out here."

Donnie just gave a quick nod before he launched up the side of the nearest building, followed by the rest.

Once they made it back, Leo took Lotus to the small lab they had set up here as Raph followed with the still knocked out Michelangelo. "So, what do we do with him?"

"Set him up in the room next door. I don't think having him wake up in Donnie's lab area would be a good idea."

"Probably not." The large turtle agreed and moved further into the complex even as Leo entered the lab/control room. Donnie entered right behind them as Leo gently laid Lotus down on the simple cot in the room. Raph joined them a short bit later, assuring Leo that their guest was resting comfortably.

"Paralyzer." Donnie grumbled as he scanned Lotus over. "Why in the hell did I invent that damn thing..." Leo could feel the anger coming from his brother as he reached into one of his compartments and pulled out the small device he grabbed earlier, but hadn't had a chance to use.

"Because when you did you were not the turtle you are now." Lotus calmly told him as he began to reverse the effects.

Donnie let out a quiet sigh, but didn't say anything else. He didn't have too. Leo knew what he was thinking. How many more of his inventions back then were being used now? How much suffering was he still causing by things he put together long ago. How many times would he be slapped in the face by his past? Leo knew this, because he kept thinking the same things everytime they went out. When would it all just end...

They all were silent as he worked and a little while later he replaced the small device where he had pulled it out from. "See if you can move your legs."

Lotus nodded and her feet wiggled back and forth. Then she easily flipped off of the bed. "Show off." Leo muttered, but gave her a smile, honestly happy to see her back on her own two feet. He still couldn't explain the hard hit to his stomach he felt earlier.

Mikey came dashing in then with James who still had his face covered with his mask. "Guys! There is a group of those robots snoopin' around. I think they might be looking for us."

"Us or the others?" Raph mumbled. "They could think that it was them that broke into the van."

"Either way, take the others and some men and go deal with them." Leo told him.

Raph gave a quick nod and Donnie and Mikey followed him out the door.

"You will not accompany them?" Lotus asked.

Leo shook his head as he walked out of the room. "Not with him here." He told her quietly, now a little nervous. "Someone should be here to explain if he wakes up."

"If you guys had the past you say you did, that may be a good idea." James acknowledged as he and Lotus joined him.

"Let me go in first." Leo told them. "I don't want him to hurt either of you by mistake if he is awake." He placed his hand on the knob, then looked at them both firmly. "I mean it."

They both nodded and Leo turned to face the door, his eyes closing a moment. He was more nervous than he cared to admit over this. This was the one thing he really didn't want to do, but now had no choice. His companions quietly watched as he swallowed hard, then pushed the door open.

Turns out his timing had been perfect, Michelangelo was already on the move, even if he couldn't walk. By the time they got there, he was already halfway across the room. And he had crawled on his stomach. Leo had almost forgotten how determined this group was.

For the first time since his return here, his eyes met the ones of one of the turtles he had tried to kill. And the hate he saw in that gaze stung him to no end. "You!" The prone turtle snarled as Leo stepped in, his weapons coming around very quickly despite the fact that he was on the floor. Quick enough to where Leo almost couldn't hop out the way in time. He didn't advance any further...suddenly found that he couldn't. The sheer hate he saw held him back.

This one had always been the joker, the happy go lucky one in the encounters they had before. Always quick with his mouth and a ready smile. So much like his own Mikey had been at one time. Leo saw none of that now on his face.

"Lotus, help our guest back into his bed. Can't have him hurting himself more than he already is." Leo met that hate filled stare again, and felt another knife stab him. Did they all feel this way towards him now? Probably. "I'd do it myself, but I'm not sure he will let me get close enough." Not to mention the fact that he couldn't. He just couldn't... His hands trembled a little as every reason why this turtle hated him came back to his mind.

"Yes, Master." Lotus and James easily sidestepped the continued clumsy swings and they managed to get close to him to start helping him to his feet. Both of them struggling under his weight.

Michelangelo pretty much ignored them by that point, knowing he couldn't fend them off, but his glare never left Leo. "Why?!" He spat.

Just for an instant anger flared in Leo. He risked his life to save this silly, ungrateful ass! But then again...what reason has he given this turtle to trust him? None. "Because I have a lot to make up for." He answered calmly instead, letting his honesty fill those words.

Leo wasn't sure if that was enough, but those blue eyes, so much like his older brother's, seemed to calm right before he turned away and began to walk away. He stopped though, somehow sensing Michelangelo's anxiety, and knew what he was worried about.

"The female isn't here." He softly said, unable to face him with that failure. "We tried to get her, but we couldn't." Again he closed his eyes, trying to calm the rush of guilt. It was that guilt that made him finally take this next step. One that was maybe way over due. He directed his next words at Lotus. "When you are done getting him settled back in, I think it wise to find his family, and bring them. We have much to discuss now that my involvement is known."

"It shall be done Master." She replied and he walked out the door. Honestly he couldn't leave the room fast enough, his past was snapping at his heels again.

.

.

"I said bring them here Lotus! I _didn't_ say knock them the fuck out to do it!" Leo almost yelled as the limp bodies were brought in. Raph moved in to quickly defuse the older turtle. He tried to lay a calming hand on his brother but it was slapped away as he spun and glared at the woman walking up. "Do you have any idea of the damage you just caused? How in the hell are they going to trust us now!"

"Leo, stop." Raph growled at him. He had run into Lotus' group out there during his own scout and stop run which had resulted in his team joining hers as they ended up converging on the same group. The ones he had been sent to deal with were out to get the group she was sent out to get. Raph saw firsthand what Lotus had been forced to resort to. "She really didn't have a choice in the matter. They all got split up, and this group wasn't going to just come quietly. You've fought them, you know how they feel about each other."

Leo trembled with his anger a moment before he calmed himself to speak again, this time directly to Holly and James. "Take them and find suitable places for them to wake up from the gas pebbles." Neither one of them said a word and just quietly led the ninjas past him.

"You gave me the instructions to bring his family here, you did not specify the exact means by which I was to do so." Lotus told him in that infuriating calm tone she was famous for...that drove Leo nuts. "The fault is not mine that you gave me faulty instructions."

"I...gave you...faulty..." He just stared at her in stupefied anger before his palm slapped against his forehead. "Why me?" He asked as he looked up.

Raph just chuckled a little before he moved on. Lotus obviously had this under control...as she always did. He followed the group and directed them on where to take the limp bodies that were being carefully carried through the base. One by one they disappeared into separate rooms, until there was only one left, one that had Raph very nervous. To his surprise, he found his hands shaking as he opened the door for the ninja who gently carried Cris and quietly watched as she was laid on the cot in the room. Then after a quick command from Raph, the ninja also disarmed her. He wasn't going to take any chances. He knew this family and didn't really want to be on the receiving end of those kunai she carried.

"That her?" Holly asked as she stepped into the room beside him.

Raph just quietly nodded.

"Huh." She said then as she closed the door. Then she walked over to the woman and looked down at her. "Why does everyone have to be taller than me?" She grumbled before she quieted down again. "She's pretty."

"Not as pretty as you." He said without even thinking and she flashed him a huge smile as he blushed a little.

"She seemed to pull through it ok. Was able to put up quite a fight out there at least. Gave us a pretty hard time. They all did."

Raph gave her a knowing smile as he walked up to stand next to her. "You have no idea... That group can be pretty boisterous." He sighed as he looked at Cris. "I've seen that before."

"Because you caused it?"

Another quiet nod on his part.

She leaned in close to him then and wrapped an arm around his waist as one of his went over her shoulders. "So...is it her you fear? Or her lover?"

"Both." He answered truthfully. "But for different reasons."

"She's going to freak out on you and he wants to beat your ass."

"Basically." He sighed again. "The pain we have caused this family..."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop brooding over it. That was the past, you need to show them you've changed."

He stared down at her. Did she really think it would be that easy? "Cupcake...sometimes I wish I could see the world through your eyes. Must be nice to have the easy answers to the tough questions."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see." He noticed movement from the woman on the cot then. "Pretty damn quick too by the way it looks."

"You want to go?" Her eyes met his and for a moment he considered it, then shook his head.

"No." Came the very quiet reply. "I have to do this..."

Cris came awake slowly and Raph retreated to the farthest corner of the room, but there was nowhere to hide from her in here. Eyes came open, blinked as she groaned and rubbed her head. "When I get my hands on the fucker that came up with those fucking things..." She grumbled and Raph did smile a bit at her tone. _That_ hadn't changed.

Then her eyes found him and grew wide as dinner plates. "Oh no! Oh _hell_ fucking no! What the hell are you doing here you son of a bitch!" She didn't even try to stand up, she just sat up and scrambled backwards on the cot, until she had nothing left to scramble on and fell off of the end of it. He couldn't see her, but her mouth was shouting curse words a mile a minute.

Raph sighed. This wasn't going to go as easy as he had hoped. But then, did he really expect otherwise?

He also didn't expect her to pop back up, with her arm cocked and ready to throw. Suddenly he found himself pelted with whatever she could get her hands on. This was an old building, and it was in disrepair. She had plenty of ammo he noticed as a chunk of concrete came flying at him. "Will you _stop_!" He almost yelled.

"Fuck you!" She screamed right back. Apparently out of ammo now she grabbed the cot, and tore it apart. He blinked at that one, she was stronger than she looked... Now she was armed with the poles from it and charged. She fucking charged! Crazy ass fucking woman!

Raph pushed Holly out of the way and snarled a little as Cris came on. He was here because he wanted to change things! Wanted to try and fix what had happened and she wouldn't even give him a fucking chance! Well if it's a god damn fight she wanted...she was going to get one! She came on with that pitiful excuse of a weapon and he started to stalk towards her, his anger in control.

Right before they came together Holly was in between them, standing firmly in front of him as she looked at the oncoming woman. "Don't hurt him!" Holly screamed, trying to get through to her.

Raph snorted at that...like she could.

"Don't hurt _him_?" Cris asked increadulously, staring at Holly. "What about _him_ hurting _me?_ "

"I'm sorry!" He almost screamed at her, frustrated beyond his patience. If he could only make her _see!_ "OK! Hell, I couldn't control what I was doing! I'm sorry..." He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself again. "I swear I'm not the same turtle!"

Cris' eyes widened in shock and the cot poles clattered to the floor as her stunned hands dropped them. Her mouth dropped open. She was obviously in shock at what she just heard.

"If you don't close your mouth a fly is going to fly in there..." Holly told her.

They both ignored her. Raph's focus was now firmly on the woman he had almost robbed of her life. Saw the doubt still in her eyes. "I'm not making excuses either. I know we tried to kill you, and I almost did once, and I really am sorry for it. I know what we did was fucked up, because we didn't care then. It was all about the pain, anger and hate. I don't want to live like that anymore! I know what kindness and love are now!" He looked at Holly, and Cris obviously caught it because her stance calmed by the time he returned his gaze to her. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness because I don't deserve it. Just gimme a chance to prove I'm better than I was. Please."

"I shouldn't believe you." Cris finally said after a long silence, and a long look at Holly who had by now moved back to his side. "Not really sure I do after what happened earlier, that bitch knocking us out and all. You better give me something to believe in."

Raph breathed a little easier, at least she wasn't trying to clobber him anymore. "The only thing I can offer you is to show you. The others of your group are here, and I'll bring you to them."

Holly walked over to where her weapons had been stashed, and handed them over to Cris. "He really has changed. They all have."

"I'm sorry, but that's something I'll have to find out for myself." But she did replace the weapons instead of trying to hit anyone with them. It was a start at least.

Raph turned and led them out of the room.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Holly asked as she walked next to him, a grin plastered on her face.

"Oh hush." He muttered.


	41. Chapter 41

She looked so calm when she slept, so peaceful. Was this the side of her he got to see? The side he held to him every night? An expression lacking of fear and pain? No hate? What kind of person was she when she didn't fear? Leo sighed...he didn't know. Never even took the time to find out.

He was standing in the deep shadows by the door in the dark room. Watching her, waiting for her to wake up. He just stood there and patiently waited. And as he did he wondered if she ever overcame what he did to her, if she had been able to live a life free of his torment. If she had moved on from it. He knew he owed this woman and her lover so much, things they didn't even realise. And all he had shown them was hate. A hate he honestly didn't feel towards them anymore. Proving that to them was going to be difficult though.

His breath caught in his throat as she started to stir. Leo was nervous now, very nervous. How would she react? Would she even give him the chance to explain?

Still he remained quiet as he watched her come to, sit up and stumble out of the cot. He smiled at how well trained she was by going for the most important thing, her weapons. He would have done the same, and no doubt his counterpart would have as well.

His eyes remained glued to her and his mouth was still to nervous to open and she rearmed herself, then looked out the window to figure out where she was, even went so far to open it. He had hoped she would. He had placed them there just for that reason. After he took the time to look them over.

He had pulled them out of their holders and was quietly amazed at what he saw. They weren't deadly weapons, and he never had a chance to get a good look at them before, but what he held in his hands took his breath away. His hands even shook a little as he held them. It wasn't so much the weapons themselves, but what they represented. The asps themselves were simple, but they stood for so much.

Leo didn't know why they chose this for her to wield. That might be something else about her that he might never know, but he knew in his heart this had come from them and was a gift to her. The detail of the vines and leaves inscribed on them was incredible as his eyes followed the red vines over the blue asp, the other had orange vines over purple. Just by the care, even as worn as it was from use, given to it made his heart ache. They obviously all loved her enough to give her something so special, and he had came close a few times to destroying it all. He had sighed and slipped them back in their holders before slinging the whole set up over the chair.

Once she had them wrapped around her waist he knew he was running out of stalling time, any moment now she would turn around...and she would see him. He swallowed hard and stepped forward. "It's been awhile Vicky." He quietly started.

That was all he was able to get out. She slowly turned around and he clearly saw the fear on her face as she finished that turn. The sheer panic. She stumbled backwards in her haste to get away from him, nearly falling over the chair. Her eyes were wide and she was almost panting, she was also trembling as those asps came out.

"I won't hurt you." He said still in that quiet tone, trying to calm the panicked woman, even as pain hit him that it was who he had been that she feared, not who he was now.

"I'm not taking that chance!" Was the snapped reply. "We have no treaty this time."

"No, we don't." He kept his voice calm but honest. "But if I had wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing here right now." He stopped moving forward as her back hit the wall. He gave her a reassuring smile as her confused look clearly said she was thinking his words over, then they hardened again and her body tensed up. She was about to smack him. That smile slowly faded from his face.

"I see." His eyes were glued to hers, clearly seeing the pain in them. Leo sighed in defeat. Apparently she had not healed from what he did. Not enough to trust him anyway. "I had...hoped..." Slipped out of his disappointed mouth.

"Hoped for what? That I would be a more willing victim this time?"

That stung him more than a little and he closed his own eyes. What he did being thrown back into his face. He was so tempted to just turn away and leave the room, but he stood his ground. He wasn't going to run from this. "I had hoped that you...wouldn't hold onto the pain I caused you. I never wanted any of that."

"So you have tried to tell me before. I didn't believe you then, and I don't believe it now."

Damn, she wasn't making this easy on him... "Vicky, please. I'm sorry. More sorry than you could ever know."

"Oh, you know my name now? Should I be honored that you don't call me bitch anymore?"

"You may not believe me, but I've been wanting to see you again."

"Why? To finish what you started?"

"To tell you thank you." He finished without missing a beat.

Her eyes were stunned and her weapons came down. "For what?"

He let her see the honesty and sincerity he felt. "You were the last straw in a line of things I and my brothers had done. Things I can never make right again. So many I have killed, hurt. So many..." He let out a shuddering breath as he was haunted with those memories again, those little blue eyes... "Then I find you. I see how much he cares for you, protects you with everything he has. It was seeing that that made me wonder if there was something I was missing. If the path I was on was the right one. I was you that made me see the monster I was."

"The monster you still are!" She hissed at him.

"No, I'm not. I'd show you, if you would just give me a chance." His hand reached out for hers. He wanted so much to comfort her through this, like _he_ does, only to have his hand slapped away.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled at him. "Don't ever touch me again!"

It was about then that there was a commotion in the hallway before the door burst open, because one of the ninjas had been thrown through it. Leo winced a little, he could have sworn he told them to stay away from this group...

A moment later the unknown turtle that was carried in with them was standing in the doorframe, his blue/brown eyes blazing. "Mother!" He walked in a few steps and stopped, and stared in disbelief at Leo. "Father?" More ninjas started filling in behind him in the door way, but stopped when Leo raised his hand.

"He isn't your Father, Ty." Vicky told the turtle. "Don't disgrace him by calling this thing Father."

Leo couldn't believe what he just heard as the turtle stalked in. His eyes grew wide as his mind struggled to take that information in. How... "Father? Mother? He...is your son?" Again he waved the ninjas off when they tensed up at the sight of the younger turtle drawing his weapons. "Care for him." He told one then and motioned to the groaning individual on the floor.

"Yes I am." Ty said as the injured man was quickly and quietly removed from the room. "Who the hell are you and where is the rest of our family? And why are you impersonating my father!"

Leo was still looking at him stupefied. "You have...children..." Then horror hit him after taking in the features of this one, and he remembered another who was clearly related to him and everything clicked in his head. "The missing female, is she your daughter?"

Vicky narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you do with her?"

"Nothing!" He finally snapped. "I tried to save her, and failed." That admission of defeat sapped what strength he had left as he leaned against the wall. "I failed..."

"What? You...you tried to save her? Why?"

"Because I am not the monster I used to be! I wish I could get you to understand that, but I understand why I can't."

"Then why are we here!" She yelled,frustrated. "Your cronies show up, knock us out and drag us here, leaving Leo and the others to who knows what. I have no idea what you did to the others that were brought here, and you say you are trying to be the good guy? You better show me something right now to prove it, or I'm leaving, with my family, even if I have to fight through you to get out!"

"That...won't be necessary." He pushed off of the wall and took her arm, ignoring the slap she gave that arm, and gently guided her out of the room. "Follow us." He said over his shoulder to Ty.

Her son fell into step beside his mother, then pulled her out of Leo's arm. "She told you not to touch her." Ty growled.

Leo sighed again, another one he had to prove himself to.

He led them a short distance before stopping in front of another door. "Here lies one I do believe might have been the reason you came out tonight. He we could reach, I just wish we could have done the same for her." Then he opened the door.

"Well, it's about time you showed up." Michelangelo said from the cot he was lying on, a wide grin now on his face. "Was getting kinda bored. He's a good host I suppose, but this place seriously lacks in the entertainment department."

"Mikey!" Vicky was so happy to see him as she ran into the room to make sure he was ok.

Leo stepped int the room behind her and her son. "The others are resting nearby. They should awaken shortly." Once again regret and sadness filled him. "The ones we could grab are anyway. I fear some of them are in the hands of Hun, while some have managed to escape."

"What in the hell is going on?" She asked him from the cotside. "You owe me some answers at least."

"Been waitin' for some myself." Michelangelo agreed. "But seems like no one really wants to tell me."

A small smile that found it's way to Leo's as he remembered what happened when he tried earlier. If he remembered right, he was more interested in hitting that listening. "It's not that we didn't want to tell you. But I knew you wouldn't believe me if I did. None of you would. Which is why I never sought you and your brothers out. Now I wish that I had taken that risk."

"And you would have gotten Vicky's reaction across the board." Michelangelo calmly told him. "I heard her all the way over here. Hell, I tried to clobber you when I first saw you, and I can't walk."

"I did make the attempt a little difficult...yes." Leo said.

"Mikey, what happened?" Vicky asked him once she was satisfied that he was unhurt.

"Lavi snuck out." He shrugged. "I went out to go get her and we got bumrushed. Got zapped in the ass trying to get away. Vicky, I don't know where she is, she wasn't here when I woke up."

By then Leo's brothers had joined them in the small room, all of them calmly watching her as she looked right back at them. "What happened to all of you?" The trust may not have been there, but Leo clearly saw the fear start to ebb out of her, ever so slowly.

"You and your family did." Donnie told her as he walked over to the cot and knelt down. "The cure that you gave us did more than stop our second mutation, it stabilized the first one."

"Say what?" Ty asked.

"How much does he know?" Leo directly asked Vicky.

"Nothing." She answered shortly. "He didn't need to know."

"I see." He replied quietly. "Might have been for the best. If he is anything like his father, the reaction would have been a bit more intense."

Donnie was working on The orange masked turtle. "I can reverse the effects of the shocks, but it will take a few moments."

"You...you can fix it?" Vicky asked him.

He was quiet for a moment before he answered. "Yes, I can. Because I was the one who designed the device."

"Why would you make such a thing?" Ty asked him and again there was an uncomfortable silence in the room.

"Because when I did, I was under the control of another." Was all he said. "We no longer work for him, now I spend my time repairing all the damage I have caused."

"We all do." Raph added.

"Leo is out there, more than likely caught, and he's suffering the same effects!" Vicky flared as her eyes hardened again. "And you are sitting on the thing that can help him!"

"Well, then." Cris said from the door, with the others behind her. "I say we stop wasting time. Let's go out and get them. If that's ok with you four." Her eyes flashed when she looked at the turtles in the room. "Send your cronies after us again and I'll personally beat them into the ground."

"I'm sorry, but it was for the best." Leo told her. "You never would have all made it out. They were expecting you."

"I don't care if they were sitting there with fucking rocket launchers." Vicky snapped back. "I'm going back out to find them as soon as Mikey is on his feet."

"I know you will, but not alone." Came the response. "I will go with you. I owe it to you...and him." She looked at him, her eyes full of suspicion. But he didn't back down. "Please. Let me help."

"Why should I?"

"Because I know what it is you face, and you won't be able to do this alone."

Michelangelo was now up. "You mind filling us in? Didn't I ask that once already?"

Vicky ignored him as she locked eyes with Leo. "Fine. You want to come, I won't be able to stop you. But I will tell you this. If you so much as lift a finger towards my family, you will regret it."

"Vicky, don't poke the bear." Michelangelo told her.

"I'll shoot the damn bear!" She snapped back.

"I think that pretty much covers this part of the conversation." The human male with them said amused. "Shall we just go? I'm sure Leo Jr. here can fill us in as we go." Leo with a start realised that this was her human son...and the other woman was her daughter. The whole family was out looking for their loved ones...

Vicky just nodded as she pushed her way past the turtles, then started marching down the hallway...in the wrong direction. She must have caught on that she had no idea where to go because she spun around and stomped right back. "Um...where's the exit?"

He just smiled and shook his head before leading the way. This was working out better than he had ever hoped it would. The mistrust was still there, but the fear wasn't. Maybe if he was lucky...he could put this demon to rest. Leonardo on the other hand might be a bit more difficult to convince. He winced at that thought.


	42. Chapter 42

"I remember you." Amy told Leo as they ran. "Barely, but I do."

Leo really didn't know what to say to her. "I remember you very well." Finally came the quiet reply. Leo looked down at her as they crossed the rooftop. She was the only one in this group that was even close enough to talk too. Vicky and the others followed at a watchful distance after Leo explained to them briefly what exactly was going on here, and who was more than likely going to show up soon, if he hasn't already. None of them looked to thrilled over the fact. Her mouth had a slight frown on it as she watched her daughter strike up a conversation with him, but kept her silence. His own brothers were gathered around him with Lotus, watching quietly.

This young woman looked a lot like her mother. Amy's hair was a lighter shade of brown, but she had the same brown eyes. She calmly looked back up at him, then said, "Mom isn't the only one you tried to kill. I also remember that first night, before the turtles went to go look for her."

His eyes grew wide and he actually stumbled but quickly caught himself before he looked back at her. "What?"

"I knew you were there." She shrugged. "And I knew you had come over to my bed to kill me. But something spooked you and you didn't."

"Why didn't you call out?"

"Because I was scared, and to be honest, I wasn't quite awake. Thought it was a bad dream at first until Donnie came and got us to lock us in the van. Then I knew it was real, very real."

"I thought you were sleeping..."

"I was, but you two woke me up. You couldn't have picked someone quieter than Mikey to bring along? Shit, if he is anything like ours, you should have known he was going to make some kind of racket."

Mikey chuckled a little at that, but otherwise remained quiet.

"But I've always wondered," Amy continued "why didn't you do it?"

"Because you reminded me of someone." He answered truthfully. "Someone I couldn't save."

"That why you stumbled backwards like a damn drunk?"

He smiled at her a little, he had thought that talking about this would be painful. It was, but not as much as he would have expected. Even the blue eyes that had always haunted him just seemed to watch this time, waiting. "Yes. I...couldn't do it."

"I see." She looked thoughtful as they kept going. "So I guess I was your wake up call."

Again he blinked, he never thought of it that way... "I guess...you were..." He admitted. "It took awhile, your family started something rolling in us that night that just kept slowly growing. And you were a part of that."

She grinned at him suddenly. "How long did it take for that printer goose egg to heal?"

Leo groaned as his brothers cracked up laughing. "You had to bring that up." He grumbled at her.

"Yeah, I did. Because I was the one that pushed it over the edge." She was still grinning.

"Why does that not surprise me..."

"Because she's almost as hotheaded as Raph." Michelangelo grinned. "She wanted to jump down and kick you in the shin a few times if I remember right. How much farther?"

"Getting close." Donnie replied.

A few blocks later they all came to a stop and Donnie began scanning. He grumbled a lot because his equipment really was able to penetrate the shield that was up. "I can't get through this damn shield!"

"Now you know how I feel." Vicky mumbled from behind them.

"I need to get in there." Donnie said then. "Or at least close enough to figure out which frequency they are using. Once I figure that out, this communications shielding won't be such a disadvantage anymore."

Leo had narrowed his eyes in thought. "Lotus?"

"Yes Master?"

"Have Holly and James stay here with the ninjas. The rest of us will split up. Raph you take Donnie and Mikey and go find the others that escaped, then take out that shield. The rest of us will try and go in and track down the girl and my counterpart. I don't want large groups in there right now. But have them be ready in case something goes wrong."

"And Thane and Dante. Gotta find them too." Michelangelo added, then looked at Vicky. "You going to be alright with them?"

"I...Mikey..." Leo watched as she struggled with it and his heart ached for her. Having to team up with someone she hated to save someone she loved must have been tearing her apart. He could see that when it happened years before, and now she had to do it again.

"Yes, she will be." Ty said firmly as his hard gaze met Leo's. So much like his father... "Because I'll make sure of it."

Michelangelo just nodded and looked at Leo's brothers. "I'm going to go with you. Raph and Marina might not just take your word alone."

"Alright. Then that's the way we'll do it." Leo agreed.

Donnie walked over and handed Lotus a couple of items. "Take these. One will help you get through anything on the doors Spencer might have put on there, the other you know already. From what they say, Leonardo was hit with a paralyzer and you might need that when you do find him."

She nodded and tucked both gadgets away before walking over to talk to James.

Vicky sighed, took a deep breath and took a few steps closer, stopping in front of Raph. He just looked down at her as non threatening as he could, not wanting to set her off, but he was a little nervous Leo noted. And a little more so when Cris walked over. "I got a message I want you to pass on to Raph when you find him." Vicky said quietly.

"And that would be?"

"I know how he is, and Marina. So you tell them I said to get their heads out of their asses and get a move on. Or I will personally come after them if something happens to Leo and Lavi while you are out there arguing over it."

"Same shit goes for Thane if anything happens to him." Cris growled.

Michelangelo chuckled a little and Raph even smiled at the tone they took. "I think I can do that."

"You know where to go?" Leo asked Donnie.

"Yes. Lotus briefed me on the layout already, I have everything I need."

"Then let's get crackin'." Michelangelo said even as he launched himself off of the roof and Leo's brothers were quick to follow.

"That's going to be interesting to see." Amy grinned to Dennis. "Wanna take bets on how long Raph stomps around throwing a shit fit?"

"Nope, because last time we betted we had player interference."

"Oh hush you two." Vicky gave her grinning children a warning look, and they just grinned back at her.

"All is ready Master." Lotus said then as she walked up.

"Then I guess it's time to go." This time he was the one who led them off of the roof, even as James moved his sister and the ninjas off in another direction.

.

.

Leo had to admit, he was impressed by this teenage turtle. The boy was silent as they moved in on the guards at the door they needed. But he was also confident in his skills as they moved. Once they were close enough, Leo had a moment of doubt, he didn't want to risk them being heard by speaking, even if by now the lights had gone out on the compound and alarms were blaring everywhere, but wasn't sure if Ty had been taught hand signals, or even the same ones. Only way Leo was going to find out was to try.

He softly touched Ty's arm and the boy looked at him, and Leo silently passed the instructions along. He looked confused a moment, then his eyes cleared with a sudden snap and he gave an acknowledging nod before moving out again, right were Leo wanted him to go. Leo smiled, the boy was very good. Leo moved into his own position. Once they were both set, their eyes met in the darkness and Leo gave him a quick nod, then they both exploded into motion. The guards had no clue that they were even there until the last instant, by then it was too late.

Once that obstacle had been overcome, Lotus led the others to the door. She quickly began to unlock it even as the rest tied the bodies up and drug them out of sight.

"Are you sure you want to go in." Leo asked Vicky quietly as they walked back over to the door. "You know now what might await us in there." He hoped she would reconsider, but knew she probably wouldn't.

Her glare was his answer. "I'm sure as hell not staying out here! I don't give a damn if it is a fucking T-Rex in there, I'm going."

"Well said." Cris muttered.

He just sighed as the door opened with a quiet click, then led them carefully in.

Besides the noise from the alarms, there was nothing else that raised any immediate concerns and the group quietly slipped in.

"I wonder who set all of this off?" Dennis asked thoughtfully.

"Not sure." Cris answered him. "But I have a couple of suspicions." Leo did too, if he knew his counterpart as well as he thought he did.

"This way." Lotus led them on.

"And how would you know where to go in here?" Vicky asked her, still suspicious of them.

"Because she has infiltrated it before." Leo told her calmly. "We've been watching this building awhile." He _didn't_ tell her how this hard headed woman almost gave him a heart attack doing it though.

"And yet you didn't do anything about his place."

"We didn't have the forces."

Vicky just grunted at that. And Leo sighed. Her rejection still stung him more than he cared to admit.

Carefully they moved on, having to stop and hide or engage the wandering patrols they couldn't hide from. Leo had the feeling that this wasn't the group they were looking for though, or the troops would be more concentrated in this area by now. He wasn't the only one who noticed that.

"Is it me or do they seem to not really know where to go?" Amy said. "They just seem to be running all over the place."

"It does look that way." Vicky agreed with her right before they had to dodge another patrol.

But even as careful as they were, they still were caught by surprise. They were trying to cross an intersecting area of the hallway when a group barged right into the middle of Leo's, effectively splitting them in half. Leo found himself on one side with TY and Vicky, while Cris, Lotus, Amy and Dennis were on the other. That obstacle between them grew when a second group arrived and a third was obviously on the way.

"Vicky!" Cris shouted over the commotion. "This isn't going to work! Go! We'll break away here and try and catch up to you later!"

Vicky stubbornly shook her head, refusing to even consider it.

"She's right." Leo tried to reason with her. "If we stay here we will be over run. Our only chance is to keep moving."

"Fuck you!" She snapped at him. "I'm not leaving them!"

Leo winced a little at her tone, but he found an ally in his argument from a surprising source. "Mom, I really hate to do this to you..." Ty mumbled, right before he literally picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Then he turned and ran down the hallway, with Leo right behind them.

After a quick sprint the two turtles found a place to hide and they disappeared in an overhead section of the ceiling in another intersection further down, watching as the men they quickly out distanced passed them below.

"No, no, no, no!" Vicky's voice was echoing the frustrations of the night. "We weren't supposed to get separated! We were supposed to stay together!"

Ty just held his mother as she struggled with this. All Leo could do was quietly watch on, but he did truly feel for her. "It's ok." Ty told her quietly. "Father will understand."

"That's not the point..." She told him. "We are scattered all over this compound now with now way to communicate with anyone. So much can happen and we won't know if it does!"

"Have faith in the other team." Leo tried to calm her mounting fears. "They know what to do and we know our adversaries well enough to deter them. Soon they will have our communications back up."

"In the meantime we still need to find Lavi." Ty gently reminded her.

"Not to mention I am almost positive that he is still out there, and more than likely the reason for the alarms going off in the first place." Leo added, knowing somehow that would calm her down...and he was right.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and did calm down. Leo gave her a moment to settle herself.

"Come." Leo reached out his hand and took hers, and was shocked when she accepted it. He then began to guide her over the rafters they had hidden in. "We are not so far away now. The least I can do is reunite you with your daughter."

She just nodded as she followed his pull, Ty protectively watching their rear. He wasn't lying, he also had been briefed on the location of everything important in this building, and he knew they were close to the only place she could be held in here. Spencer's lab. That promise he would keep, he would bring her to her daughter.


	43. Chapter 43

Raph was so glad he had Holly to hold tight in his mind, because he really needed her now. Facing Cris had been hard enough, but this unforgiving turtle who stomped along next to him was another matter. They had found them relatively quickly, and he surprised them all by agreeing to the team up, but it had been tense there for a moment.

Even as Vicky and Cris still didn't trust them, neither did this Raphael. And his angry muttering fully let them know about it too.

Raph himself was very uneasy over the situation. He knew this turtle was so much like himself, and he knew if the tables had been reversed, if he had hurt Holly, Raph would be seriously trying to restrain himself right now. It was there, simmering in the air between them, and Raph wasn't sure if he should bring it up now, or wait for the other turtle to do so.

The choice wasn't made by either of them however. Marina had stopped in front of them both, her blue eyes glaring at them. "If this is going to work, both of you need to get what is going through both of your minds out of your system. _Now_."

The rest of them stopped and looked on as the two Raphs stared at her in shock. She just kept glaring at her Raphael, and even crossed her arms. "I mean it. I know you well enough to know that this is going to fester Raph, and we don't need that blister to pop while we are in there."

"I don't know what you are talking about!" He snapped.

"I think you do, because I've been thinking about it since I saw him."

Raphael stared back at her, trembling, as his anger started to mount.

"Brace yourself." Michelangelo quietly told Raph. "You knew this was coming."

Raph swallowed hard, but nodded.

Then the small turtle ducked around behind them and quietly and carefully relieved Raphael of his sais. The larger turtle didn't even notice what his little brother just did, because he was still staring at Marina, but he didn't see her anymore. His eyes were filled with pain and rage.

The girl who had been with them, Ari, was then pulled away from them to a safe distance.

The explosion happened shortly after. " _You almost fucking killed her!_ " Raphael roared as he spun, his fist leading. Even though he knew it was coming, Raph couldn't get that arm up to block and the fist hit him square in the jaw. And it hit with enough force to knock him quite a ways back. He hit the ground hard and the other turtle stalked in after him. His hands went for his weapons, and was stunned when he didn't find them. Then growled it away and came on again anyway. "She never did _anything_ to you and you take _my_ sai and _stab her in the damn chest!_ "

By now Raph was up on his feet, his own temper starting to rise. He brought the arm up to block the next swing, and the next. Using a combination of his own anger and holding Holly firmly in his mind he was able to hold back this furious turtle. Barely. " _I almost lost her because of you!_ " The kick almost made it through.

By now Raph had had enough. He caught the next punch in his fist even as he launched one of his own, which was caught by him. Both of them were now locked in a struggle of strength, and neither was backing down. Matching snarls mirrored each other's faces as amber and green eyes met and held. "You have _no_ fucking idea how much I god damn _hate_ you!" Raphael growled.

"Not as much as I hate myself!" Raph snapped back. "To have to sit there and watch what I did, not able to control it. To have to see her pain and your grief! Nothing will take that away! Nothing will clear that from my mind! _I have to live with what I've done and I'm not sure I can!_ " Raphael's eyes widened a bit at that admission, but they still kept that hold on each other. "I'm _sorry_! So god damn sorry! What more do you want from me?" Raph finally managed to push him away, and he didn't come back in, just watched. "I've spent these last fifteen years trying to change, trying to make up for the shit I've done! I have to look at the results from my actions every time I turn around! Everywhere I go! There is so much I can't even begin to make right, except this... This one thing... I just want to make this one thing right... Then maybe it will make the rest easier to do..."

Raphael snarled again. "Are you saying this for me or to make yourself feel better?"

"Maybe a bit of both." Ari said from the side as she watched. "He wants to change Uncle Raph, even I can feel the sincerity in him. He's trying to let you know he really regrets his actions, and maybe trying to do right by you gives him hope to have the strength to do right by others. It's hard to keep doing the right thing if you have no proof that the efforts pay off."

Raph looked at the child, stunned. She had so easily described what he had been struggling to say. "How can one so young be so wise?"

"Ari has a peculiar way of looking at the world." Marina told him, then looked at Raphael. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you done yet? Got it all out of your system? Or should we waste more time while you two wrestle it out some more?"

"One of these days Marina, I'm going to do something about that smart mouth of yours." Raphael growled, then took a deep breath. "Fine, as much as I still want to slit you open, I'll give you the chance to prove your words. Still doesn't mean I fucking trust you."

"I don't expect you too."

Their eyes met again and held and for the moment they both understood each other. Then Raphael turned to Michelangelo. "Give me my shit back before I knock your damn head in."

"Please." Ari muttered and Raphael glared at her.

"Fine! Give me my shit back before I knock your damn head in, _please_."

"Oh lord..." Marina rolled her eyes as Michelangelo tossed the weapons back to their owner.

Raphael just ignored them all as he turned and started to head the way they had been going. It didn't take them much longer to find a way in, and they slipped inside. With all the distractions out of the way both hotheaded turtles could now focus on the mission they were supposed to do. It was time to take out that shield.

.

.

Leo led Vicky and Ty at a brisk trot. They were so close now that he had to fight the urge to just run ahead and get there. But he was sensible enough to realise that would serve no purpose, besides raising the mistrust level in his companions and possibly blundering into something.

Confidently he led them through this maze of hallways, having committed Lotus' description of this place to memory. She gave good instructions. She was good at a lot of things he noticed. Especially pissing him off...

He shook his head, mumbling under his breath. Now was _not_ the time to be thinking about that. So why did she keep creeping into his mind? Was she ok? Were the others looking out for her? Were they keeping her safe? Where was she? Gah! Why couldn't he _focus!_ Probably because he knew how much trouble she could get into. Well...if he really thought about it...she never really _did_ get into trouble... Always seemed to bail _his_ ass out a lot though... How was it that the most highly trained individuals in his world got bailed out and helped by a tiny sliver of a pain in the ass woman... Leo didn't know...

He snapped his mind back to where it was supposed to be when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hun! I thought we agreed to not go after them! Why did your troops not listen!" Spencer was almost yelling from somewhere not far ahead of them now. "Now we have three of them running loose in the compound! And probably more outside somewhere causing damage to our systems! They followed your idiotic troops and found us!"

Leo slowed down and the other two followed suit. He motioned for them to stand firm and inched closer.

"I'm not the one that gave the order you moron!" Hun snapped back. "So don't yell at me! The master told us to round them up right after he got here. I'm not going to argue with him over it! Besides, they were already on the way here. They found us regardless of your precautions."

Spencer let out a frustrated breath then. "I don't think he fully understands what is going on here and you should have explained it to him."

"And lose my head? I don't fucking think so. This is your operation here, you tell him. I'm just trying to do as I'm told." Hun seemed real smug over that fact.

"Coward." Spencer spat at him.

"You want to rephrase that while you still have your health?" Hun growled back at him. "I'm going to go out and personally look for the missing three."

"Which you somehow managed to let slip out of your grasp." Spencer interrupted smugly. Leo smiled at that information, it seemed that his counterparts and the two missing young ones _were_ responsible for turning this place upside down.

Hun growled warningly at him before he continued. "You think you can handle this one? I'll even be nice and leave you some men."

Spencer just snorted. "Please. She isn't in any condition to do anything, not as long as I keep her unconscious anyway. I have no intention of letting her wake up."

Bingo... That was just the information he had been looking for. He quickly retreated back down the hallway and nodded. Vicky closed her eyes in relief. Leo quickly pulled them around the corner again as Hun came out of the lab, and headed the other way.

Leo waited until he was gone and carefully led Vicky and Ty closer and they stopped right outside of the door. "We need to go in quickly." He whispered to them. "Spencer is in there and if he gets the chance he'll raise an alarm. There are also going to be some guards."

Both nodded and got their weapons ready even as Leo drew his. Then he kicked the door open and stormed in. Spencer whirled from the hanging body of the female Leo recognized from the van, though her mask was now missing and her hair was unbound. It was definitely the same one. With a snarl now on his face, he went straight for Spencer as Vicky and Ty flanked him on either side.

None of the guards Hun left stood a chance with these three. And once Leo saw the condition of the poor girl, he nailed Spencer hard enough to send him crashing into the wall on the other side of the room. He didn't get back up.

Leo's heart broke as he looked on the girl they had all been trying to reach for hours now. For a moment he wasn't even sure if she was alive, until he saw her try and lift her head, and couldn't. He sheathed his katanas and stepped closer, holding her up while her mother and brother unhooked her from the wall and she fell into his arms. She struggled a little, very weakly. "Easy young one. You are with your family now." Leo calmed her as he lifted her up.

The confusion was evident on her face as her uncomprehending eyes met his. They were the same unusual blue/brown as her brother's. "D-daddy...?"

"No little one. I am not him, but I will return you to him. That I promise you." Leo told her as he met her gaze. Holding this girl against him, it suddenly hit him how much his counterpart actually had...and what he himself didn't. A woman to love, children... This was Leonardo's reward for a life well lived, while Leo had nothing but pain. He envied the other turtle so much at that moment.

Suddenly Vicky was next to him, her eyes worried. "Lavi! Oh honey..."

"Mom...I'm sorry...so...sorry..." The girl struggled.

"Lavi, don't. We'll talk later about it, ok?" Her hand reached out and stroked Lavi's cheek. "I'm just glad we found you."

"Sis, next time you decide to go out on one of these adventures...take me with you." Ty gently told his sister. "At least then someone will know where you went. Had us all scared there."

Vicky popped his arm even as Lavi smiled at him. Once again Leo saw how much this family cared, and he was beginning to understand why they would move mountains for each other. He sighed wistfully, then turned and began to carry her out of the room. He could feel the girl in his arms watching him, her confusion mixed with curiosity.

"Which way?" Vicky asked once they were out of the lab.

"Out preferably." Ty muttered.

"That may be easier said than done." She muttered back.

Leo just remained quiet, but broke left this time. As they ran Lavi passed back out in his arms and he looked down at her a moment. Silently he promised he would watch over her until she could be reunited with the one whose job it was to do that. His arms cradled her protectively as he led her mother and brother on. He knew he would more than likely be tested on that promise very soon.


	44. Chapter 44

They were wising up, Leo figured that out when Hun's men came out of hiding to ambush them. They were able to deal with this group, it had luckily not been very large, but they didn't come out of it completely undamaged. Vicky suffered a blow to her head, and the man who did it suffered the wrath of her pissed off son. Vicky could still walk after that, the guy not so much... The boy was very good.

Ty then guided his mother along as they moved on. She had a hard time shaking the blow, and blood was starting to run down her face. Leo took that in with a fair amount of concern and pulled into a quiet hallway. "We will stop here a moment." Leo told them.

Vicky just nodded as she leaned against the wall, Leo put Lavi gently on the floor as the injured woman slid down the wall next to her daughter. Leo knew she needed a moment to gather herself, and he needed to look at her head.

"I'll go scout out the area. See if anymore of them are hiding nearby somewhere." Ty quietly told them and slipped off into the dark hallway.

Vicky reached out a hand to her head, then winced a little when she found the blood on it when she pulled it back.

Leo was honestly concerned as he knelt down next to her, feeling guilt rise in him. He had allowed her to get hurt... One more time she got hurt because of him. Even if he didn't directly do the deed himself, it had been his responsibility to protect her. His one time to prove he could care for her instead of hurting her and he blew it all to hell.

"Are you alright?" Obviously not by the amount of blood on her hand. A quick glimpse at where her injury was made his next decision, there was a decent sized gash on her head. "It needs to be wrapped." If he didn't, she wouldn't be able to see soon from the blood that would flow into her eyes. Honestly, he was surprised she was even up and moving. He had seen humans go down from lesser blows that that before. She gave him a pain filled nod and he pulled out a kunai, intending on cutting something off of his clothing to do just that.

It was then that he felt it. The pure rage that crossed the distance and reached him. The hate. Leo's eyes widened, he knew who it was. Just as Leo knew he picked the worst fucking moment to come around that damn corner, because this really didn't look good, didn't look good at all... Ooooh...he was fuuuucked...

Leo's head snapped around, and had a split second to take in the fact that Lotus must have found him, and fixed the effects of the paralyzer...because he got a facefull of raging Leonardo with fully functional legs as the other turtle crashed into him with a rage fueled growl. Leo wondered for a moment if maybe Lotus could have waited until _after_ they had a chance to explain to him before she fixed him up... Would have made things a lot easier...

They both hit the floor and rolled. His family was desperately screaming at the blue masked turtle, trying to explain. But Leo was too busy to keep this other turtle from tearing him apart to notice, and Leonardo was to filled with anger to listen. Even though this one meant to more than likely kill him, Leo really didn't want to resort to pulling his weapons out. Couldn't right now if he wanted too. He made sure he kept every move he made purely defensive, he didn't want to aggravate Leonardo any more than he already was. Even as he blamed himself again for the reason Leonardo was beating on him now. He deserved this, he deserved everything this turtle threw at him. But now wasn't the time. If Leonardo wanted to kill him later, that was fine but they really needed to find the other team and get the fuck out of here before this drew in all kinds of unwanted attention.

"Please! I mean them no harm!" He tried to calm his attacker, tried to get him to understand. Leo might as well have been talking to a brick wall, Leonardo ignored him just like one.

His answer to that was a punch to Leo's jaw that rattled his teeth more than a little. If he lived through this he was going to count his teeth later, just to make sure he still had them all. "What did you do to them!"

"Leo!" Vicky called to him as Leo was finally able to push him off, his jaw now screaming at him. _Fuck_ he hits hard when he's pissed.

He ignored the pain and focused solely on the other turtle. Mainly because he upped that ante and the katanas came out. Leo found himself trying to dodge those blades, but still refused to pull out his own. Even after all of this he didn't want to risk hurting the other turtle just because of a misunderstanding. "Nothing! I swear to you, I did not harm them!"

"Leo! Stop!" Cris tried as she hung off of his arm, only to be thrown off as he went right back in again. She should have known that wouldn't work too well... "Dammit! Where the hell is Raph when you need him!"

"Liar!" Leonardo came in again and Leo was forced to play the dodge game all over again. What would it take to calm his fury?

"Leo he's trying to help!" Amy called to him, she was ignored just like the rest.

"I should have never spared your life!" Leonardo hissed in anger as he came back in. Once again pain filled Leo with those words. Pain because it was what he had done to her before that caused him to lash out now. Leo knew he never forgot, couldn't forget, everything Leo had done to Vicky. She wasn't the only one who held onto the past, but this one was more dangerous when he was confronted with it again.

"Leo! No!" Vicky shouted, trying to make her way to him, but was still stumbling, unfocused from her blow to the head.

Leonardo wasn't listening anyway, the blades came back up, and right over Lotus who was suddenly in between them. What in the hell was she _doing!_ Leo's heart skipped a beat as she appeared in front of him _._ Was she _fucking crazy!_ The blades came down before Leo could even begin to push her away and for a frightening moment, Leo was sure those swords would hit her. They almost did before another intervened. Ty crashed into his father, knocking them both to the floor near where Leo had placed Lavi.

"Father! That's enough!" The teen snapped at him, barely able to hold the furious turtle down. Ty looked like he was riding on top of a car speeding down a bumpy road as he held onto Leonardo.

Vicky rushed, stumbling, over to them and, to Leo's amazed amusement...sat on him. She fucking _sat_ on him... But it worked. Even as mad as Leonardo was, he wouldn't risk hurting her by shoving her off of him. "Leo! He didn't hurt me and he saved your daughter!" Leonardo didn't speak, couldn't speak past the rage he felt, but his eyes did meet hers. Leo kept his distance, letting his loved ones bring him around. Leo somehow knew they were the only ones who could.

"He didn't do this to me." Vicky calmly told him. "And he helped us to find Lavi." Leonardo's eyes moved to the child he had been missing, and now was found and within his reach. Even as he took that fact in, Leo knew it was taking awhile to sink in. His trembling didn't subside, and Vicky and Ty refused to get off of him. Leo just waited as Leonardo focused again on her, their eyes meeting and held. They were quiet a moment as she looked intently into his eyes, seeming to try and tell him something through them. "Leo please. It's not what you think." He calmed then, but not enough for them to feel safe letting him up.

Then something else got his attention, and had it fully. "Daddy..." Came Lavi's quiet call from the side and everyone grew quiet.

Leonardo's head again turned to his daughter and that switch finally hit as the rage washed out of him. He gently pushed Vicky off of him and even Ty moved so he could get up and answer that quiet call and knelt next to her. He pulled her up into a sitting position and held her against him. "Lavi, turtle dove..." His voice broke a little as he looked her over. Leo could tell he wasn't pleased by her condition, because Leo himself was furious over it.

"Daddy...he...he helped...he helped me..." She struggled to get out. "Please don't...hurt...him." As if those few words drained what little strength she had in her, she collapsed against his chest, breathing heavily.

He just pulled her closer before his gaze sought out Leo's again. His eyes were unreadable as their gazes met, but Leo didn't see the blinding rage in them anymore. Leonardo then looked back down at Lavi. Her own tired gaze reassuring him. "I won't." He told her quietly and she smiled up at him.

He stood up then with her in his arms, and walked over towards Leo. Leo could feel the tension in the air still, but hoped that his daughter in his arms calmed him enough to where he would at least try to listen. Those ice blue eyes narrowed at Leo as he stopped a few feet away. "It seems that I am missing something here." He hesitantly began. "Given our past I have no reason to trust you, yet they all tell me that you are not the enemy."

"I am not." Came the quiet reply as he carefully pushed Lotus out of the way, just to be safe. "Not anymore." He kept his tone calm even though the adrenaline was still rushing through him from the earlier incident.

"I see." Leonardo studied him a minute, his eyes searching. "It also seems that I owe you an apology, and my thanks. But I swear to you if you so much as lift a fin-" He broke off, stunned, as Vicky slapped his arm. He looked down at her and she met that look with a glare.

"It's been said already and so far he hasn't done anything...like he used to do. So stop rubbing it in."

"Alright. Then would you mind filling me in on what I missed?" He smiled gently at her before his slightly mistrustful eyes wandered back to Leo. "I think I'm in the right mindset to listen now."

Before anyone could even begin to explain, there was another commotion in the hallway. "Leo if you don't knock it off right now Ima gonna knock your ass...oh." Raphael pulled to a stunned looking stop as he took the situation in. The others weren't far behind him. "Well shit. All that runnin' for nothing."

"Now he shows up." Cris muttered. "Where was he when we needed him ten minutes ago..."

Raphael just shrugged at her. Then the whole building rocked. "What in the hell!" He spun towards Donnie. "I thought you said that you weren't going to blow it up!"

"I wasn't." Came the smug reply. "Not with us in the same room anyway."

For some reason the two Mikeys and the smaller female turtle with them found that hilariously funny.


	45. Chapter 45

Well, at least Leonardo wasn't trying to kill him anymore. Leo could tell he still wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation and the information that had been shared with him. But his immediate concern was for his daughter, who he still held protectively cradled in his arms. But he did allow Leo and his brother to take care of Vicky's wound, though he watched with a careful eye. After she pretty much told him she was going to let them do it whether he liked it or not.

He had reluctantly agreed to let Donnie and Leo tend to his mate, but when they tried to help his daughter they ran right back into that wall again as he growled. He didn't even use words...he didn't have too. Leonardo could put whole sentences in that menacing noise. Both of them got the point, stay the fuck away from my daughter.

His family apparently were used to these protective outbursts though. Marina slapped his arm without an once of fear in her. "Knock it off."

"It's ok." Donnie told her, not taking his eyes off of the explosively protective father. "We fully understand why he is the way he is towards us."

"Doesn't mean he has to be a dick." Cris deadpanned back. Leo had to bite back his laughter on that one. These women were more vocal than Lotus...but no less stubborn. Leo was starting to wonder if it was something about being a mutated turtle that drew just that type of personality in, the pure stubbornness one.

"He can't help it." Leo spoke up then, fully understanding what this turtle was feeling. "What reasons have we given him to trust us with his family members? Especially one as precious to him as his own child."

"None." Leonardo flatly told him. Vicky just let out a frustrated sigh.

"We just want to tend to her wounds." Leo tried to calm him. "I give you my word that we won't harm her."

"Damn right you won't." He snapped back.

Apparently Vicky had enough by that point. She fearlessly stomped up to Donnie, grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to her lover and firmly stood in between them before she reached out for her daughter's arm, then handed it to Donnie. "Wrap it." She said, indicating the bleeding wrist.

He glanced hesitantly at Leonardo, then quickly cleaned and wrapped the wrist, then the other one she handed to him. Lavi just watched quietly, still to weak to really talk. The girl did wince a few times in pain as Donnie tried to carefully tend to her wounds, and that caused another growl. Vicky didn't even flinch, but Donnie was getting a little nervous and seemed relieved when he was finally done.

"Can we get out of here now?" Raphael asked once the first aid was complete. "I don't really think it's a good idea for us to stay to much longer."

"Agreed." Raph added. "We managed to find the girl, now it's time to go."

"Not to mention we blew up a decent section of the base." Michelangelo added. "Think they might be a little pissed about that."

Both Leos nodded at that, then caught each other doing it and just stared at each other for a moment before tentative smiles broke out on both faces. Just for a moment Leo had connected with him, and that gave him hope that they could move past this.

"Lotus, you know the quickest way out, you guide us. I will bring up the rear." Leo said, then caught the mistrustful look again. Then again...maybe not just quite yet... "Along with your Raphael." He added to settle Leonardo's nerves. This one obviously didn't trust Leo to watch his back yet.

Their eyes met and held for a moment before he gave an approving nod. "Then let's go."

Lotus led them out at a swift pace, with Vicky and Michelangelo in the front with her. Leonardo was centered in the group with his precious cargo and the rest of this large group encircled him. Because none of them wanted further harm to come to her.

Leo was quiet as they went, his thoughts tumbling more than a little as he ran next to this large turtle. He hoped beginnings had been made to heal this breach he had caused, hoped that the first healing steps for all of them would turn from steps of hardship, to ones of ease. In his mind he hoped that one day they would all forgive him...then maybe he could forgive himself. Because that was something he still hadn't done, even after all of this time. He still held onto it, even as they held onto their hate and mistrust. He fully understood their feelings and actions, because he hated himself just as much.

His eyes watched Lotus as they kept moving as she quietly talked to Vicky. She was the first one he had fully let into their life. Sure he kept saying she bullied her way in...but he knew he could have found away to get rid of her if he wanted too. And he didn't want too. She was stubborn, hard headed, strong willed, among other things, but she had also pulled them out of a funk they found themselves in. In her they found an ally, much like these turtles found in their human companions. Now he knew why they valued these humans so much. Even the hockey masked wearing doofus, even if he wasn't out with them tonight. Because of her, they had found themselves on this road to redemption. It wasn't an easy one, as his aching jaw reminded him, but it was one he was now very glad he had taken.

"I hate to say it..." The large turtle next to him rumbled. "But I'm startin' to believe you guys are...different."

"You haven't changed at all." Leo replied, rubbing his jaw. "Still the over protective ones that I remember."

Raphael chuckled a little over that. "Have to be with this bunch."

Leo smiled but remained quiet. He did agree with him though, they definitely had their hands full with this motley crew. The children, both human and turtle, echoed various personalities of their parents. And those four were bad enough, Leo couldn't imagine _all_ of them fighting against him. They were a formidable force to be reckoned with, that's for sure. Once again envy hit him. They had so much that he and his brothers didn't have.

"Is it worth it?" Leo slipped out as he watched this unusual family. "Is everything you go through worth what you have now? The added worries they must cause you all?"

"It...took a bit of getting used too." Raphael admitted. "We weren't used to close bonds like that. We do have human friends, but they are so much more. They made us confront things we never had to deal with before, but these women also opened our eyes to what we had been missing. To us, they are more than worth the effort we put in to protect them."

Leo's eyes had wandered to Lotus again as he listened. She was now slightly ahead of the others. Something made sense deep down in him over what Raphael just told him and he began to wonder... Why exactly did she follow them?

The first members of their group rounded the next corner, and the scream that came back right after made Leo's blood run cold... He knew who that pain filled cry belonged too... "Lotus..." He whispered and ran past the others in his haste to get to her.

He rounded that corner, and stopped as if he hit a brick wall at what he saw. He didn't see Michelangelo dodge to push Vicky out of the way of the next strike, he didn't even see who was in the corridor to make him even do so. His eyes hit the woman who was on the floor, bleeding out from the large rip that covered her abdomen. No...

Flashes of her crossed his mind. The way she calmly inserted herself in their lives, her dusting and his sneezing fits, crashing the door into a smug Spencer when she came looking for him, the slap he got for even making her do that. The first time he ever saw her in another color besides black, her wet hair piled into a loose bun, covered in a soft pink silk robe. The fear of loosing her when she was thrown from the van. The happiness she fought to bring into his family. The way she tried so hard to always be there for him. All of this crossed his mind in a fraction of a second before what he saw now registered in his mind, and a cold fist reached into his chest, took his heart...and ripped it out.

In all of the commotion going on around him, he clearly saw her look at him, meeting his eyes with hers full of pain, fear, regret...and for the first time he clearly saw the love in them. Her hand reached out to him weakly before it fell to the floor. It was in that moment everything became clear to him, why she chose to stay, why she seemed distracted at times around him, why she was never far from his side, why he really didn't mind her being there. And why he himself couldn't get her out of his head.

"Lotus! No!" Ripped out of his throat, his arms trembling as he realised he lost a love he never had the chance to explore, because of his own blindness to it. So many signals he had missed, or just shrugged off, that seemed so obvious to him now. His light brown eyes lifted from her body on the floor to the man who had done this to her. _"You!"_ His snarl was full of rage as he found his former master. White hot rage took a hold of him in an instant, forcing him away from her and towards the man who just killed her. Once again he had taken someone important from Leo, but this time he was going to make him pay for it!

"And you shall share her fate, my former student." Shredder snarled right back at him. "You and your brothers will regret the day you turned from me."

"I regret the day we first followed you!"

He didn't know where the strength came from to hold this man back, and Leo really didn't care. All he could focus his grief stricken mind on was the fact that he killed her. _He killed her!_ Blow after blow met, each combatant solely focused on the one in front of him. Leo lost track over everything else around him, because nothing else seemed to matter at that moment.

Somehow he was vaguely aware that Donnie was now next to him, and instinctively he adjusted just enough to let his brother enter, but everything else was still blacked out. He didn't see Hun enter the fray, or the other turtles rush to take him and his men on. The quick, shouted conversation his allies had with each other also went unheard. He only had eyes for this monster in front of him.

Then a clear voice cut through his haze as another joined him. "I understand your pain," Leonardo told him, his own katanas now out and swinging "I really do, but this isn't going to help anything right now! We need to go."

"Her hurt her!" Leo spat as he let loose another attack combo.

"And she will die if we don't get her out of here!"

"She's already dead!" Leo's eyes filled with frustrated tears. "We have nothing here to save her with. We were not...prepared for something like this to happen! I'm going to lose her...The one person who forgives what I've done...I'm going to lose her..." He almost broke down as his grief struck him again.

"You can't help her, but we can. But only if we hurry!" Leonardo firmly told him. "We need to take her home. Not your home, my home."

Leo finally broke his gaze from the man in front of him as he looked into the calm eyes of his twin, hope beginning to flutter in the spot his heart had been. "Why?"

"Because everyone deserves a chance to start over, and it's time that I quit standing in the way of you trying to do that."

"He's right." Raphael spoke up as the others broke from Hun. "Donnie can help her."

"Oh brother..." Cris mumbled. "I see where this is going."

"Me too." Vicky agreed.

That hope grew rapidly now, filling that hole so fast it ached. He could...they could...help her? Please, god please let that be true... Leo nodded and ducked under the next blow that came for him before he grabbed Donnie and pulled him away and together he and his brothers turned and followed this unusual family as Leonardo and Raphael brought up the rear.

Donnie pulled up even with his counterpart's son, Dante. Talking urgently through the line that had bee opened and telling James exactly which way they were going since the escape route had now obviously changed. Then Leo watched heartbroken as Donnie ran beside Michelangelo, trying to stop the bleeding in Lotus' limp form. Trying to buy her the time needed to get to their destination.

Leo was by now numb, he wasn't feeling anything as he ran on, blindly trusting in these others. He ran on Michelangelo's other side, his brown eyes locked onto the face of the woman lying in them. He so much wanted to hold her, but didn't dare try to move her, not while Donnie was working on her even as they still headed for the exit.

Dante led them on, his steps confident and finally he guided them to the door that led outside. Even as they approached it, it burst open and Holly led the ninjas in to engage the men that were still trying to catch them. Her eyes ran over Lotus as she passed and they went flat with anger before she ran on. Leo knew someone was going to suffer for that anger here in a little bit. But he was past that already, he was now more scared than anything, a feeling he wasn't used to feeling.

As he came closer to James however, Leo slowed and stopped him as the others ran on, and out of the building.

"What happened?" Came the obvious question from him.

" _He_ happened..." Leo shook with anger again. "He's here." James started cursing violently at that information until Leo cut him off, he didn't have time for this, James could invent new swear words later. "Just engage them long enough to give us time to retreat, then pull back to the hideout. We'll contact you as soon as..." Leo closed his eyes as he almost lost it. "As soon as we can tell you more. We are going with them."

James gave him a quick nod, then followed the rest of the ninjas while Leo turned to catch up to the others who by now had a decent head start. He had caught up with them well before they reached their vehicle and he hovered nearby as Leonardo pulled down a bed from the wall even as Dennis put the large thing into motion with ease. Donnie was looking around thoughtfully even as he still tried to stop her bleeding, more than likely thinking of making something similar for them when they got back home. "This thing is set up well enough...we might have a chance at this..." He quietly told Leo as Dante opened a compartment that revealed all kinds of medical supplies and yet another with field equipment in it, before turning his attention to Lotus. She was so pale now...so very pale... Leo's hands began to shake as he took hers. It was cold...

A calm hand was laid on his shoulder and he turned to meet Leonardo's eyes. "Don't give up on her." He said. "Because she isn't ready to go yet or she would already be gone."

Leo took a deep breath and held that hand more firmly, trying to give her whatever strength she could as Raph and Mikey watched. Both of them sharing his anger and worry...but neither sharing the love he finally felt for her.


	46. Chapter 46

"Follow us." Leonardo told him even as he ran out of the vehicle, Lotus now in his arms. Ari, Michelangelo's daughter, ran ahead to let Donatello know of the arrival. "Raph, get the others settled in. Show them where they can rest and wait."

"I got this Leo, just go!" His brother snipped back.

Surprisingly, Leo found Vicky gently guiding him to get his still numb body moving, and once he was he didn't need her gentle prompting anymore. He half expected to not be allowed to step inside of their security, their hide away, their home... He was not only allowed, but his presence was encouraged as Ty almost pushed him on from behind, his sister resting in his arms now.

He quietly followed them to the lab, his eyes roaming the familiar underground den they called home. He had been here before, but that time was marred by what had been done to him and he found that he really didn't remember much of his time here. And what he did remember had been blurred by his ...sickness. But once he stepped inside, it all shot back with clarity. He knew the way to the lab and didn't even follow Vicky anymore, he walked alongside her.

"It's about fucking time!" Came the annoyed voice of Donatello from the lab. "Do you have any idea how worried I was getting? Would it have killed any of you to-Holy shit!" Leo had just walked in and Donatello's eyes grew wide behind his glasses before one of his crutches came up for a swing at Leo, then he overbalanced on the other one and he fell over onto the floor. Leo just raised an eyeridge at him. He had heard that he had broken his leg, and this sight would have been funny if Leo didn't have Lotus on his mind. Lotus... "What the hell is he doing here!"

"Long story, I'll tell you later." Vicky told him as she helped him back up. "Right now she needs your help."

Donatello blinked a moment, then finally caught sight of the woman Leonardo was taking to the lab bed. "Shit... Ari!"

"Yes Uncle?" She replied from right behind him, smiling still over his initial reaction.

"Go find your parents. Get them here...like yesterday!"

"Yes, sir!" The youngest shot out of the room.

"What happened?" Donatello asked as he crutched his way over to the bed, eyeballing Leo as he did.

"She met the business end of a very sharp blade." Vicky told him as Leo moved closer, his eyes not leaving Lotus' pale face.

"Damn..." He shook his head, then scrambled to get some things together that he would need. Caitlin and Michelangelo then entered and Caitlin went over to help the turtle juggle his crutches and medical equipment. Donatello looked at Michelangelo then. "You know the drill you big loon." He nodded and walked around the bed as Caitlin started to set various equipment up.

Leo watched quietly as they scurried about from the head of the bed. "What is he doing?" Worry fueled the question that came, he understood nothing of what he saw.

"Blood transfusion." Donnie told him as he walked in.

"Is that even safe for her?" He reached out a hand, so much wanting to take hers, but couldn't because of the activity taking place around her. It dropped back helplessly to his side.

"It is." Vicky calmly told him, easing some of his worry. "It's not the first time he's had to do it. And you must have forgotten the whole Cris escapade in Bishop's hideout. We both have had to have it done to us."

"I...I do remember." Leo admitted. "I just wasn't fully aware of what was done to save her." He knew Ratchet fixed her up, but never knew exactly how. Then he caught sight of the twins as Ty walked over to an out of the way spot, still holding his sister, patiently waiting for her turn. Is that how they came to be? Was that...

"Yes, that is how we were able to have them." Leonardo quietly confirmed his thought.

Guilt suddenly washed over him, seeing how extreme this injury was on Lotus, and the radical method they had to use to try and save her... He remembered how bad Vicky had been after that fall from the tree... "It...it wasn't...something I did to you...was it? That caused you to...have to go through that?"

Her hand reached out and gently took his. "No...it wasn't you." She reassured him. "Caused that one with my own stupidity."

He looked down at the hand that she held. The supportive way she held it, so much different from when she slapped his hands away earlier tonight when he tried to show her comfort. Now she was trying to comfort him... He didn't know how to take it as he looked back at her. This was more than he ever hoped for from her. Leo blinked back tears as he pulled his hand back, not sure what to think as he turned back to Lotus, even as the first few drops of Michelangelo's blood began to make their way into her. Vicky didn't take offense, just quietly watched from where she stood.

Leo didn't notice as Leonardo led the children back out, didn't notice that Vicky stayed, watching the two former enemies now unite to save this one life that was important to him. Nothing but Lotus mattered to him. She was still so pale, and cold... He did the only thing he could. He couldn't hold her, he couldn't comfort her, but his hand ran through her hair. Taking in how soft it was as he did it over and over again. taking comfort from it even as he still tried to pass something on to her. Hold on Lotus...please hold on...

Then he heard something that raised his spirits enormously. "She's a tough one." Caitlin murmured. "She seems to be holding."

"Better than when they brought her in." Donatello agreed. "I wasn't sure we were in time."

"I...never thought to do something like this before." Donnie said as he kept stitching the wound closed.

"It kind of hit me to be honest with you. Like said before I already knew the basic components of our blood setup. When Vicky got hurt, it just clicked in my head that Mikey's was a good match."

Donnie just looked thoughtful as he kept working.

That hope kept growing as they grew more confident in their work. Leo didn't know how long they had been at it when they finally backed away and Caitlin began to unhook the machines.

"Best we can do for her right now." Donatello told Leo as he covered her up with a blanket. "I fairly sure she should be fine, but she's going to be out of commision awhile."

"Thank you...that is more than I had hoped for..." Leo gratefully told him.

That earned him and his brother a long look from him. "I see something changed in you." His head tilted. "Never would have thought to see you again honestly, much less coming here with my own family. And you then completely screw my thinking up by thanking me. I am obviously missing something important here."

"It's not really that hard to figure out." Caitlin said quietly as she watched all of them, then looked directly at Vicky. "You remember when Donnie first...changed...and I asked you all those questions?"

Vicky nodded. "Yes, if I recall right you were trying to convince me that their mutagen was the reason they were the way they were. I also remember kicking a chair across the room that night."

"I still miss that chair." Donatello mumbled.

Caitlin smiled at him. "Anyway, I added something to the cure that would stabilize their unstable mutagen. Not only did I flush out the contamination caused by Bishop, but fixed the flaw that was already there before. I had hoped it would work for them, but had no real way of knowing if it did, until now."

Leo stared at her. Hard. He knew she had made the cure for the second mutation and they had all thought that it was some kind of reaction to what she did that changed the makeup of their mutagen. That's what Donnie had hypothesized anyway, he couldn't be sure since he had no samples to look into it. But that she had actually took it upon herself to _fix_ it...She knew about the shadow, in a roundabout way, and she was the light that had removed it. Leo didn't know what to say...

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Vicky asked her, just as stunned.

"Would you have listened?" She asked right back. "I tried to explain it once and you flipped out. I wasn't going to try again. Besides, they had left, what point was there to bringing up a subject that was painful to everyone? He already wanted to change, I could tell that. So I just helped them to be able to do that. With their mutagen stabilized they could become the beings they were always meant to be."

"You were the one who cured us?" Donnie asked her, his own mind blown by the fact that she took on more than she had to do.

"Yes, she was." Donatello told him. "Not like I could do it at the time. I was in about as bad shape as you were. Vicky, show him where to take his friend so I can at least get this half of the bed cleared off so I can look over Lavi."

Leo shook himself out of his stupor and carefully, so very carefully, picked Lotus up. His arms were shaking as he held her close to him. He followed Vicky out of the room and down the hall, which had grown longer since his last visit he noticed, until she entered the room he had recovered in last time. She then went and pulled the covers back from the bed. Just as careful as he picked her up Leo laid Lotus down into the bed before taking the covers from Vicky and gently covered her up.

"Here." Vicky pushed the single chair in the room over for him. "You might want to sit. Probably more comfortable than standing there."

"Thank you." He told her as he sat in it. His eyes never left Lotus, but he was struck again by the thoughtfulness this family was now showing all of them.

She was about to leave the room then, but stopped and took a deep breath as she turned to face him again. He found himself looking up at her as she stood next to him. "You said earlier that she was the only one who forgave your past."

"Yes. She has. She knew part of what I did, but she still choose to...stay..." Leo had to swallow hard to keep his voice from breaking.

"She isn't the only one anymore." She told him quietly. "I...I still don't fully understand why you've changed, but you did. Maybe it's time I allowed both of us to move on, move past what had happened and focus on what needs to be done to live a life without pain and guilt. I forgive you and I hope my forgiveness can in some way ease your own pain. A pain she knows you carry."

How long had he wanted to hear that... And now that she finally said it, he didn't know how to handle it. Finally she could let go of what he had done, finally she could move on, no more would he torment her, she could heal. Finally one of his victims had forgiven him... He had succeeded, he had changed, he now had proof that it wasn't all in vain, that he made the right choice by leaving his Master so long ago. No more was he the monster he used to be. Those blue eyes that had haunted him for far too long seemed to smile at him, then they finally closed, at peace. Leonardo had found who he really was. It was all too much for him. This, added to the strain of worrying for Lotus, broke him and he turned his head away from Vicky as the first tears fell. He felt her hand on his shoulder a moment as he lost control, then she left the room. And when she did...he cried...

.

.

The room was dark, that she could tell right away. But other than that she knew nothing of her surroundings. Her eyes took everything in as her aching, weary, body slowly told her that she had somehow survived a blow that should have killed her. Then her eyes found the quiet watcher who was sitting on the bed next to her, and she felt guilty by the worry she clearly saw on his face. "Master, I am sorry...I should have paid more attention."

"No Lotus." Leonardo calmly told her. "You didn't know he was there, none of us knew he was there. Don't blame yourself."

She closed her eyes again a moment as her body struggled through the pain. Even talking seemed to take a lot out of her. "Where are we?"

"In the home of the other turtles." His eyes were still watching her, sending those now common place flutters flying in her stomach again. They seemed so much more intense to her for some reason.

"The girl is alright?" She then asked, she knew he was worried about her. Had blamed himself for not being able to get her back, and it hurt him even more when he found out who she actually was.

"She is here and reunited with her family. She will be fine."

She closed her eyes in relief then. "One less burden for you to bear." She said softly. With her eyes closed she didn't notice that he did catch those quiet words. Or catch the tender look he gave her as she spoke them.

"Lotus..."

"Yes Master?" She opened her eyes again.

He paused a moment, his eyes locked on hers. "No. Don't call me that anymore. I don't want to be your master."

What? After everything... He didn't want to... "Do you wish me to leave your service?"

"No. I don't want that either." He smiled at her.

She was beyond confused now. "I...do not understand..."

"Then let me show you exactly how I want you in my life." His eyes took on that intense gaze again, but there was more emotion in them this time. She thought she saw something in them that she had been hoping for a long time now, but couldn't bring herself to believe she was actually seeing it. Before she could even begin to figure out what he meant, his head came down and his lips pressed against hers.

Her eyes widened in shock. Was he...was he really...he was... Lost now in this fantasy turned real she closed her eyes and opened her mouth, and he gently entered. This was real...this was so real... He was against her, she could finally taste him as his tongue met hers again and again. She brought her trembling arms up around his neck, so scared that this was just a dream and he was going to just vanish. When her arms confirmed the fact that he was indeed here, and he was indeed kissing her, she began to cry.

She never really showed her emotions too much, had learned to hide them over the years, especially this one, but this was too strong to be detained. She had no control over the tears that now ran down her cheeks. And they didn't go unnoticed. He pulled his head back and watched her as she took in what just happened.

"I've waited so long...had hoped one day you would...would..." She struggled through her weariness and emotions to talk.

"Return your feelings?" He asked gently as his thumb wiped away the tears. All she could manage was a nod by that point. "Lotus, I already did. I just didn't truly see it until...now."

He...did want her... "Leonardo..." She breathed before pulling him back towards her. He came in harder that time, his lips firmly reinforcing what he just told her about how he felt. And after years of hoping, dreaming, she returned it just as hard. Wanting to taste more of her, his lips broke from hers and trailed along her jawline and down her neck. Where he passed he sent shivers of desire through her as she moved her head to give him more room. Her breathing, already hard to do, grew even harder as her body responded to him. He nibbled gently and a moan escaped her lips. But that was nothing compared to what his hand against her bare skin felt like. He gently skimmed his fingertips under the blanket and along her side and it was like a jolt of passion shot through her. She gasped as her body responded by arching back into the bed, and pain shot through her from the sudden movement.

That made him finally pull his head from her neck and he looked down at her with regret of having to do so, concern and love. "Lotus...My Lotus..." He kissed her forehead. "Never again will you have to worry about me not noticing your feelings. Rest now. I will be here."

She tiredly smiled up at him before her eyes drifted closed again. He would be there, she knew he would be. With that firmly in mind, sleep reclaimed the injured, but now very happy woman.


	47. Chapter 47

Leo finally left the room for the first time in hours. His heart more than full. Vicky had forgiven him, something he never expected, and not long after Leonardo himself had come in and added his to hers. When the turtle had entered with a tray of food, Leo was still upset and confused over everything. Didn't even find himself hungry enough to eat what had been brought to him. He was still even hesitant to show Lotus the love he now felt for her. That was not the case anymore. To see the joy on her face, the happiness, just because he finally returned those feelings still made Leo smile.

There were still so many differences between him and his counterpart. Leonardo seemed so much more experienced in certain matters...like love. Leonardo did have his woman for far longer than Leo, who was only just beginning to explore that strong feeling.

He also saw very quickly that Leo was still struggling to let go of other things. The eyes had finally been closed, but the guilt still lingered. For once, the blue masked turtle guided him in the direction he needed to go, not fought against him to deter the path that he was on. For once, the hate wasn't there. It had been replaced by concern for someone who was honestly trying to make his life better, and ran into a huge stumbling block in the process of doing it. For once, the offer of friendship had been extended, not the katana blade.

With a few words of encouragement and insight, Leonardo had firmly moved that block out of the way and pushed Leo gently further down the path he so much wanted to take. Even now he replayed that conversation as he carried the now empty tray out of the room.

 _The door opened behind me, and he stepped in, quietly closing it behind him. I didn't have to look to see it was him, I just knew. "I brought you something to eat." He said as he walked over. "Your Mikey is just about as good in the kitchen as ours is." He placed the tray down onto the nightstand. "Though I wouldn't recommend going in there when they are both cooking, gets a little messy."_

 _I just nodded, not really hungry, or feeling like making small talk with him. My eyes never left the bed and it's occupant._

 _"She seems to be resting easier." He then commented._

 _"She is." I answered him. "I keep...hoping that she will wake soon."_

 _"Give her time. She'll be back on her feet quicker than you expect."_

 _"Seems hard to believe, considering the damage done."_

 _"It just feels like it to you because you don't fully understand. I've seen these transformations before, and trust me when I tell you she will recover very soon."_

 _I looked at him confused. "I...I don't understand. Transformation?"_

 _"How do you think Vicky was able to hold onto you on top of that car?" He asked with a sly smile. "There was no way she would even been able to hold you still like that, if something hadn't changed in her to give her the strength to do so. Lotus will change, become stronger, faster and she will heal much quicker than normal."_

 _"I didn't know that..."_

 _"It's not necessarily a bad thing. It will give her a slight advantage if she keeps choosing to follow you out on dangerous missions, like my stubborn female family members do."_

 _I allowed my own smile to form on my face. "Like Vicky?"_

 _"Especially Vicky." Came his wry smile back. "She's more stubborn than most."_

 _"I've...noticed that a few times." I said as I rubbed my cheek where she bit me so long ago. I still had a slight scar there from it._

 _He just watched as I grew solemn again at that memory. Here I was, having a conversation with the lover of the woman who gave me that bite in self defense. I just turned my head away from him again, so I wouldn't have to look at him. I couldn't look at him._

 _"I know Vicky talked to you earlier." He said then. "And I know what is bothering you, just like I know it bothered her. Because I'm still not over it all either to be honest with you."_

 _"I don't blame you for feeling that way." I told him. Why should I? I'm the one who caused her harm for him to even be feeling the way he does._

 _"No, but you blame yourself." He took a deep breath then. "I just wanted you to know, she isn't the only one who forgives you. I do too. I'm willing to let go of what happened in the past between us, if you agree to do the same. If Vicky and I don't hold it against you anymore, then there is no reason for you to hold it against yourself."_

 _"So easy to say, yet so hard to do."_

 _"Maybe you just need a little help on figuring out how. And from what I hear, there is someone else in this room that can teach you, if you let her. She seems to have no problem leaving what you did behind." He then quietly turned and walked towards the door, then paused again. "There is no reason why you can't have what I have, my friend. To deny yourself that now, all you are doing is punishing yourself. And it's time you quit doing it." Then he left the room, leaving me alone with his words echoing in my head._

And he did ponder those words for awhile. Took strength from them. And by the time Lotus woke up he had figured out what it was he needed to do. And her reaction to that decision had been more than worth it.

He heard voices coming from further down the newer expansion of hallway, and a moment later a smiling Ty came out of the room and gave him a wink as he passed him towards the kitchen.

The teen's obvious good mood could mean only one thing really, and Leo changed his own direction to see for himself that Lavi was on the mend. He smiled when he heard her voice, now firm when she could barely even talk when he had found her. That smile slipped from his face when he listened to what she was actually saying as he entered the room.

"I wanted to kill Hun." She sobbed into her father's chest from where they both sat on the bed. "And as many of his men as I could...they hurt you and Uncle Donnie, forced us back into hiding, have done so many other terrible things...and I just wanted them dead..."

"Oh, Lavi..." Leonardo's voice broke with hers and he just held her tighter. "I...never wanted...wanted for you to do those things..." Now he was the one who looked confused, unsure, of what to do.

This was something Leo held the expertise in, he had lived it long enough. "And yet sometimes you can't control those feelings." He spoke up from the doorway and they both looked at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just returning to the kitchen to get something for Lotus...when I noticed your daughter was awake. I wanted to see if she was alright. And she obviously isn't." Again he suddenly knew what he had to do as he walked into the room and placed the tray down on the desk with a sigh. Not really sure if this was his place to even do this. "I wish to talk to her, if you will allow it." He told the father on the bed.

Leonardo met his eyes, and seemed to sense what Leo was wanting to talk about, then nodded in agreement before he stood up. "Is she awake now?"

"No, but she was earlier. She might be hungry if she does wake again soon."

"It seems you found your appetite as well." Leonardo smiled at him as he picked up the empty tray. "I'm thinking you resolved a very important issue of your own finally, considering you've been cooped up in there all day."

"I have." Leo said quietly.

"I'll go pester the Mikey twins for something. I've got them destroying the kitchen right now anyway to make something for Lavi." Leonardo walked out of the room, but not before he shot his daughter a worried glance.

Leo had to admit he was a little nervous as he watched her a moment, trying to figure out where to start. He wasn't really sure why, but he was. "I know what you are feeling." He began hesitantly. "I've lived with those feelings longer that I care to remember. The unbridled rage, the hate, the urge to just destroy anyone who crossed my path. How easy it was to just kill anyone who...didn't agree with what I was to doing. I understand very well."

The pure shock on her face as he told her that made him realise why he was so nervous. She was so innocent still in a lot of things. If she was like her cousins, she could fight very well but she was also at the age where she didn't fully understand what her actions would actually cost her if she chose that route. He didn't want her to take that path. Confusion also marred her features as she struggled to take in what he told her and match it up with what she saw.

"Child, I wasn't always the turtle you see standing before you." He started again quietly. "Your Father and I have met before, and we were on opposite sides of morality. That was the reason behind his hostility when you saw the fight between us earlier. He was lashing out at who I used to be, not who I am now."

"But he accepts you now..." She was still not quite understanding where he was going with this.

"Because I've changed. There is always the potential for change. To do the right thing...or the wrong one." His eyes met hers, showing her that he knew exactly what line she had almost crossed. She couldn't meet those eyes as she saw a glimpse of what she had almost become and had to look away from him. "Your family tries to follow the first path, they always have. I can personally tell you that they let my brothers and I live, when they had every right to kill us. But I am still alive. This is what they try to teach you. It is easy to kill, especially in anger, but in doing so you kill a part of yourself. Do it long enough and it will numb you to it, then you will take enjoyment from it..."

Now it was his turn to look away...in shame but he forced himself to go on even as the tears built from reliving those memories a final time, to try and save her. "It is a harder path to follow to let others live, when you know they don't deserve the right. But it is the path that saves your soul. Take that from someone who almost lost his..." He looked back at her, not even trying to hide the tears in his eyes, fully letting her see the pain of what everything he had done caused him. "That is a path neither your Father or I wish to see you go down. Don't let hate guide you, because it is a very fickle one."

Lavi looked down at her hands as her own eyes teared up. She had come so close to taking that first step down that dark road. Leo moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked back up at her with tear stained eyes. "Don't become the monster I used to be."

"I won't...I promise." She told him as she wiped her eyes. Eyes that had a new determination in them. Leo gave her a gentle smile in return. "Your words aren't wasted. I see now how stupid that was, and not because I got caught either."

"He is so blessed to have you. I can only imagine the joy you bring to him."

"Only when they listen." Vicky said from the doorway where she was leaning, the white bandage around her head bright in the dim room. "There have been a lot of hair pulling moments."

"It's the nature of children to test their limits." He smiled at her.

"And it's the nature of parents to groan every time they do." She chuckled as Donatello crutched his way into the room.

"Heard you were awake." He said as he came closer. "How are you feeling?"

"Stiff and sore honestly."

"If that's all you are complaining about, then that's a good thing." He sat down on the bed and began to check over her wrists. "If you feel up to it, I'd like for you to get up and move around a bit. Want to make sure you healed alright from those shocks."

With a nod, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, and promptly stumbled that first step. Leo wasn't going to let her fall though and reached out to catch her. "Easy. You've been immobile for awhile now. It might take you a little while to be back to full strength." He still held her gently by the arm until she steadied again.

"Just take it slow." Donatello added.

Lavi nodded as determination now filled her eyes. She slowly made her way across the room, with Leo walking next to her, until she reached her mother watching by the door. Once she was there, her arms wrapped around Vicky who hugged her back just as tight. Neither of them spoke, neither had too.

"Well, jeez. I leave for a few minutes to go get you some grub and I miss all the fun." Ty grumbled as he came down the hallway with Leonardo.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I didn't give you a chance to laugh at me as I fall face on the floor." Lavi flatly told her brother, and he grinned in reply.

"You feel like walking to the kitchen?" Leonardo asked. "Your uncle is making you some pancakes."

"Oh yeah!" She scurried down the hallway as fast as her stiff legs could carry her and Leo smiled at the sight as he followed them to the kitchen. Leonardo met his eyes as she passed him, his eyes questioning. Leo just nodded slightly and the relief that took over his face actually warmed Leo's heart. This time he was the one who had been able to help them...

All of that thought was washed away as something else called for their attention. "Mikeeeeey!" Roared across the lair. They all paused at that sound as Michelangelo came scrambling out of the kitchen, with Leo's own little brother right on his heels, both laughing so hard they could barely run. "It's bad enough with just one of you in here!" Raphael roared again and a frying pan came flying out the same doorway. "Now I'm stuck with two of your dumbasses!" He came charging out of the doorway himself then...covered in raw eggs. "You wait until I get my hands on you fucknuts!"

Leo really wasn't quite sure what to make of this development. The others obviously didn't seem to concerned, more annoyed really. The only response that even came out of Leonardo was a facepalm. But then, the sheer threat of violence that Raphael was spouting off made Leo worry about his little brother for a moment.

"Is this something I should be worried about?" He asked as they all watched Raphael chase the other two around the lair, even stopping long enough to pick up the earlier thrown frying pan. This time it connected with his younger brother's head, with a loud clang, and Michelangelo fell over behind the couch and out of sight, and Mikey tripped over him and disappeared too.

"Nope." Leonardo answered him. "Everything is perfectly normal."

"Normal for this bunch of babies anyways." Vicky added.

"I see." Leo then said...then he laughed his ass off. Good god he hadn't laughed this hard in awhile... A very, very long while... He was years overdue and it felt good to finally let it out.


	48. Chapter 48

This turtle baffled Mikey to no end. This normally quiet brother just could not figure his counterpart out. He had fought this turtle many times, and the sheer ferocity this turtle could show was fully expected. He was trained just as well as his brothers. But his other side Mikey just couldn't figure out. He was fucking nuts!

Oddly enough...Mikey liked him. He seemed to take risks when he really didn't have to do so. Even at home. Like now. Leonardo had made the mention that Leo hadn't eaten yet, since he was still locked away in Lotus' room, and it would be a good idea if something was brought to him. Was an easy enough task? Right?

"On it." Michelangelo hopped out of his recliner where he was quietly talking to his daughter who sat across from him on the couch, both of them mirrored each other as their feet were crossed on the coffee table. Mikey had been watching from nearby, quiet as usual. He was in awe over this sunny haired child with the disposition to match. Was in awe over all of them actually, but this one struck him the most. Simply because she was the daughter of Michelangelo, a vision of hope for Mikey that maybe someday... He sighed as he turned his head away.

"Hey...gloomy! You comin' or what?"

It took Mikey a minute...and a couch pillow thrown into his face, before he realised that it was _him_ that Michelangelo was talking to. He looked at the thrower in shock and found a wide grin on his face. Ari chuckled from where she sat. "Yeah, you! Come on, you can help me in the kitchen. I have no clue what your brother likes to eat."

Gratefully, Mikey got up and followed his twin into the kitchen. He did love to cook, and so did his twin apparently as he started to whistle as soon as he walked in there. He pulled open the door to the fridge and stuck his head in. "Hmmm...let's see what we got in here..." He dug around for a moment. "He like omelettes?" He then asked over his shoulder.

"Yes...ham and cheese ones..." Mikey quietly replied.

"Alrighty then. One whopper ham and cheese omelette comin' right up! Here, catch!"

Before Mikey could ask "Catch what?", eggs began flying out of the fridge one by one. Rising high in the air before they started their downward arc to the floor.

Mikey choked off a startled scream as he madly rushed in to catch them all before they hit the ground. He was able to catch the eggs, but the packet of cheese that came next smacked him squarely in the face. "Not bad." Michelangelo grinned at him as he carried the rest of the ingredients, closing the fridge door with his foot.

Mikey just stared at him as he stood there with the eggs.

His twin ignored the look as he calmly walked over to the stove, placing his items on the counter before reaching inside a cupboard for a mixing bowl. "Well, you gonna send those eggs my way or what?" He then raised a eyeridge at the unsure turtle standing still in the middle of the kitchen. Mikey began to walk towards him. "No, no, no... I said _send_ them my way."

Again Mikey looked a little dumbfounded. His twin however was grinning. "Well come on, ain't got all day now. Toss 'em here."

Mikey hesitantly tossed one over and he easily caught it, cracked in on the rim of the bowl and chunked the shells in the nearby garbage can...all in one motion. "I know you can go faster then that. Show me what you got!"

With a small smile starting to find it's way on his face, Mikey sent the rest of them at a much quicker pace this time. And he caught them all and repeated the process. He had the first egg cracked, dumped into the bowl and shells tossed while the last one was still in the air. Not one egg hit the floor and Mikey's smile grew wider.

"Ha ha! Didn't think I could do that, did ya!" Michelangelo boasted.

Mikey bent over and picked up the pack of cheese that he couldn't grab and brought it over. He set it down on the counter as the other turtle began mixing the eggs. Michelangelo looked at him out of the corner of his eye, then opened a bottom cupboard with his foot that was next to Mikey where cutting boards were hung on the inside of the door. Then he kicked upwards on the bottom of one and it shot up in the air. He had obviously done this before. Without even thinking Mikey reached out and caught it and put it onto the counter. Michelangelo wagged his eyeridges at him with a grin and continued mixing. "Good reflexes."

"Thank you." He replied as he, after a questioning look and an approving nod, reached for the a knife stored in the knife block and began slicing some ham. Then he sliced some cheese. When he was done with that, he looked unsure at his cooking partner...not really wanting to ask for too much but somehow knowing he wouldn't mind. "Do...you by any chance have a teapot and some tea? He likes tea."

"Pfft, why does that not surprise me. What kind of tea? Green tea, black tea, yellow with purple polka dots tea?"

"Green tea."

"Cupboard right in front of you, all the way back to the right."

Mikey opened the cupboard and retrieved the teapot and the package of tea. Then with a small mischievous smile of his own...he decided it was time for some payback. "Heads up!" He said before tossing the teapot over to Michelangelo. He knew he didn't catch it...with his hands anyway, when the sound of a hollow clang reached his ears.

"Ow!"

Mikey looked to see the other rubbing his head. "I'm...I'm sorry..."

"Oh hush." Was the reply, along with a grin. "Raph does worse than that on a daily basis. Besides, that's what I get for teaching you kitchen kung fu, then not paying attention."

This time Mikey grinned widely back at him. "It's almost like ninfoodsu."

"Nin...food..." Michelangelo cracked up. "Oooooh that's a good one! Wait till I tell the others that...ninfoodsu..." Chuckling he shook his head.

By the time Leonardo came into the kitchen, and raised his own eyeridge at the mess because of the quick food fight they had just moments before, the two Mikey's had grown very comfortable which each other and there was a lot of laughter. "I'm not so sure it's safe to come in here anymore." He mumbled as Mikey tentatively handed him the tray with the finished meal. The blue masked turtle took it from him, and gave him a steady look. "You don't have to be scared of me my friend. As far as I'm concerned, the past is in the past." He turned and walked back towards the door, then paused and turned back to look at him. "It's good to see you smile. For a Mikey...you don't do it enough." Then he was gone, leaving Mikey staring behind him in open mouthed wonder.

"He's not going to eat you." Michelangelo chuckled at the look. "I think he's got that out of his system now."

Needless to say when Ty came in a few hours later and informed his uncle that Leonardo now would like something for the just woken up Lavi to eat, he rejoined his partner in cooking crime in the kitchen. That was still a bit messy from the first meal they made...ok it was trashed. Ty went to the fridge to get himself a drink and came back out with a can of soda. "I know it's my week to clean the kitchen..." He popped the tab. "But there ain't no way I'm cleaning this mess." He took a long drink.

"And you shouldn't have too." Leonardo said as he came in next. "You still haven't gotten this cleaned up? What have you been doing this whole time?"

"Not cleaning." Michelangelo grinned at him. Leonardo popped that eyeridge up at him again, and the other one came up when Mikey grinned too. "Think Lavi would like some pancakes?"

Ty laughed. "That's like asking if you like video games. You know she loves your pancakes, especially if you throw some blueberries in there."

"Pancakes it is then!"

"And so the mess shall grow." Leonardo sighed. "Come on Ty...before you get lost in here."

Ty chuckled as he tossed his now empty can into the garbage, from across the room. Then he followed him out and Michelangelo went to the fridge again. "Pancakes, pancakes, gonna make some paaaaancakes." He sang as Mikey explored the kitchen and placed a clean fryer on the stove...took him a bit to find one.

"Incoming!" Came the warning and Mikey spun to see the first few eggs were already in the air. He caught the first one, then the second. But the rest never made it to him. For the simple reason that Raphael had walked in...and right into the line of fire. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth egg nailed him right upside side the head with a splat, splat, splat, splat.

Mikey's eyes grew large as the large turtle stopped, then slowly turned his head to his little brother, whose eyes had gone just as wide. Then he slowly swung his head to Mikey. That glare he fixed on both of them could have melted ice. Mikey stared right back at him. Then shrugged. Oh well...might as well go out with a bang. He threw the two eggs he held right into Raphael's face.

"Mikeeeeey!" He then roared and both of them cracked up laughing as they scrambled to get around him and out the door, narrowly missing the frying pan that came flying from behind them.

Mikey had no idea what possessed him to do that, would have never had done it on his own. But from the reaction of the turtles here, it seemed like it was normal for Michelangelo to do something like that. And apparently he did it a lot. So, yes, this turtle baffled him. Simply because hanging out with this turtle was starting to unlock something within himself.

It took him a minute to figure it out as he, still laughing, followed his counterpart as they ran around the couch. Until the frying pan came back again and this time hit it's target, knocking the other turtle to the floor. Mikey couldn't stop running, or laughing and promptly tripped over Michelangelo and fell to the floor next to him. Then they laid side by side on the floor, both of them crying by now they were laughing so hard. It was then that he finally found what had been taken from him so very long ago. He found his inner child, his loon, his sense of humor. He had found his soul.

This might not be the best time to find it however as Raphael appeared. Standing over them as he was still dripping egg off of his head. Both of them rolled to their stomachs, feet scrambling as they tried to get back up and out of his range. Both still laughing. They barely managed to get away from his grabbing hands and darted away, Mikey looking over his shoulder as he did. And the look on his face wasn't exactly what he was expecting as Raphael met his eyes. Instead of anger, he found a very slight smile as Raphael let him get away. And when he ran passed Leonardo, and his own laughing Leo, he saw the same gentle smile on his face before they both shot out of view. What astonished him was the fact that they seemed...happy for him...


	49. Chapter 49

It was still an unusual feeling, showing her the love that had been hidden this whole time. It was even more unusual to do so in front of others. He felt a bit self conscious as he held her hand while the Donnies looked her over. Vicky was standing nearby holding the various things they needed.

"Healing up pretty good." Donatello told her as he finished up with rewrapping her. "How's the pain?"

"Bearable, as long as I do not move too much."

"Which is stubborn woman talk for it 'It hurts like hell but I'm going to suffer through it because I don't want anyone to worry about it'." Donatello replied and she blushed. Donnie laughed as Leo smiled gently at her...she was cute when she blushed.

"Why you older turtles always fall for the stubborn one, I'll never understand." Donatello shook his head as he pulled out some pain killers.

"Oh, like you haven't had a hard time with Marina before." Vicky told him archly.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He replied with fake innocence, and she snorted in reply. This time both of the other turtles laughed.

Leo held Lotus' hand a bit tighter as he shared a small smile with her. This family was definitely not what they were used too. They were more open with each other, both in love and annoyance. He was still shaking his head over the egg/frying pan scenario. His own family had their moments...but they came nowhere near close to what this large family does on a daily basis. They had learned the joy of life long before Leo and his own brothers have, and they lived it to the fullest everyday. It was evident on how they interacted with each other, even the children. And it was staring to rub off on the not so lucky turtles. Leo welcomed the change, the last step to fully let go of what they had been.

Once they had been bitter enemies, neither group understanding really what drove the other to do what they do. They had fought for their loved ones and to keep things right in their world, where Leo and his brothers had fought to take it away. Now? Now he was rapidly growing at ease with them, trusted them fully with the care of the woman who was now the most precious thing to him. He had tried to take Vicky from Leonardo, now Leo would forever be grateful to him for the help in finding his own happiness.

Donatello stepped back and Leo gently replaced the covers back over her just as Leo was reminded about someone else the turtles here allowed in their world. "Holy mother of hell! How the fuck did you get here! Guys! You got intruders! Guys!"

"Fuck!" Vicky snapped, then dropped the supplies she was holding with a clatter as she ran from the room. Leo and Donnie quickly followed her even as Donatello crutched along behind, muttering about his handicap with every thump of the crutches.

They ran to the living area to see a very distraught Casey, with swinging hockey stick, in a standoff with Raph, who didn't look too impressed with their friend. "What did you do to my friends you overgrown ashtray!"

He was about to hit the turtle when Vicky crashed into him and both hit the floor, hard, and the air came out of his lungs with a oomph. Michelangelo was there an instant after she was and quickly disarmed the mask wearing vigilante.

"It's alright Casey!" Leonardo said as he came running up from another part of the lair. "It's not what you think."

"Say what?" He said confused, still pinned to the floor. "I thought they were the bad guys?"

"Not anymore." Vicky told him firmly. "And if you pull out a damn baseball bat and go after them again, I'll break it in half and shove it up your ass." She warned him. "Sideways."

He winced a little at that. Leo did too, he knew she was stubborn enough to at least try to make good on that threat. "Ok then. I think you made that point very clear. Now, not that I'm complaining on having a pretty woman on top of me, but would you mind getting off?"

"Not with you." She told him, giving his head a shove as she got up.

"Darn it." He grinned as he stood back up, then eyed Leo and his brothers. "Soo...do they have something to do with the recon you had April and I do?"

"Something like that." Leonardo told him as he walked closer. "Turns out they are here trying to help with the current situation, not hinder our efforts."

"Uh huh...so when did hell freeze over?"

"Knock it off you idiot." Raphael told him. "Leo and Vicky are right. They aren't here to cause trouble."

"I'm assuming you came because you found something?" Leonardo asked.

"You mean besides the building I think you had a hand in blowing to shit?"

"He did it." Michelangelo pointed to Donnie.

"Anyway. There is another building a few blocks away. This one more quiet as the one you blew up. But there have been reports of 'Strange figures' snooping around over there."

"That would be our hideout." Leo told him. "It seems we weren't as careful about our presence as I had hoped."

"Yeah, but it's hard to hide a small army of ninjas in New York so you're excused." Michelangelo grinned at him.

"But the concern is now, if April and Casey can find that out, maybe Shredder did too." Donatello said as he finally joined them.

"Ambuuush." Michelangelo muttered then.

"No, I will not allow that to happen!" Came Lotus' weak voice from the hallway. Leo turned to see her stumbling along, one hand supporting her on the wall and the other holding the blanket, that was wrapped around her, closed in front of her.

"Lotus..." Leo quickly went to her to keep her from falling as she stumbled again.

"Hel-lo...who's the hot Asian chick?" Casey asked, and got slapped upside the head by Raphael.

"You shouldn't be up." Leo gently chided as she collapsed against him and his arms wrapped around her. He carefully held her against him to keep her from falling.

"I couldn't rest." She told him. "Plans need to be made to stop him, and I wish to contribute."

"Told you, stubborn ass women." Donatello grinned at him. That grin was quickly wiped off of his face when Marina gave him a nudge in his side...hard. "Ow..."

"My men, they must be warned...moved. If he finds them he will slaughter them all."

"And we will make sure he won't find them." Leo told her.

"They are my responsibility, I drafted them into this fight."

"No, blossom. They aren't just yours, they follow you and you follow us. That makes them mine as well. We will deal with it, you will rest and heal."

She looked up at him, about to protest again, but his stern gaze told her he was having none of it even as he gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Where in the world are we going to hide, like, five hundred ninjas?" Thane asked.

"It's not quite that many." Donnie smiled at him. "More like one hundred."

"Still, not like we can just set them up in here."

"No, but we can bring them through here." Ari said from where she was sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table flipping through one of her magazines.

"Excuse me?" Her older cousin glared at her and she just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Obviously, the shield they have up isn't going to work anymore, you did remember that second signature we found right?, that they had used to hide themselves from us, so they don't need that headquarters anymore anyway. And if this Shredder is as half as good as you all seem to think he is, then there really isn't a good place to hide them where he won't find them in town. So, get them out of the town, but still close to where if we need them, we can reach them."

They all just stared at her. The girl was quick Leo had to admit. "You're kidding right?" Vicky asked her.

"No, not really." She replied as she turned back to her magazine. "It would solve two problems at once and Lotus won't worry her pretty head over them so Leonardo won't have to beat her unconscious to keep her in bed." She shrugged. "Just my opinion though."

"Dad is going to love this." Vicky muttered. "Ninjas all over his property."

"How did you know we were shielding to hide from you?" Donnie asked the girl curiously.

"Please, I figured that out as soon as I knew who you were." She smiled at him. "Given the direction you came from, which was in the second area Aunt Marina couldn't penetrate as we tried to find Lavi, and the fact that you showed up remarkably quickly after the rest of my family disappeared along with the fact that you didn't want our fathers to know you were here...it's all pretty obvious."

Raph looked at Donatello. "Are you sure she isn't yours? She is remarkably intelligent...for being his daughter." His thumb pointed to Michelangelo.

"Hey!" Came the protest.

"I wonder that myself." Donatello grinned. "But no, she is definitely his."

"What else did you find out?" Leonardo asked Casey.

"Some weird activity around the docks area." He shrugged. "Sound typical Hunish, that is his known stomping ground after all."

"He does always seem to end up back over there." Cris agreed. "What's he up too this time?"

"No good probably. We couldn't get answers out of anyone really, they are all too scared to talk. Seems like anyone who has either ends up missing, or dead in an alley somewhere."

"So I guess we get to go take a breath of sea air next." Cris sighed. "I hate going over there, the dirty water stinks out the whole area and it takes me days to get the stench out of my hair." With everything they just discussed...she was worried about _that_?

"No." Leonardo corrected her. "First we go get their ninjas and bring them here. I won't let them just get ambushed, not if we can do something about it." That sounded more reasonable...more reasonable than complaining about how hair would end up smelling anyway.

Vicky sighed as she turned towards the lab. "Let me go let Dad know so he doesn't shoot them full of pellets."

"I was hoping you would suggest doing that." Leonardo looked at her innocently.

"And why is that, my dear?"

"Because he won't beat you to a pulp for bringing strangers near his beloved goats." He grinned.

She threw a shoe at him.

Leo just shook his head at the continued antics of this family...they were all going to die...

.

.

Raph was looking for one ninja in particular as he ran into the base, the others not far behind and then they all spread out to cover as much ground as they could to warn them all as quickly as possible. He found her as she just came out of her room. She turned to face him when she heard him coming and the smile she gave him stopped his heart. Lord he had missed her...

"Raph!" She exclaimed as she ran towards him and literally jumped into his arms.

"Not now cupcake." He told as he put her back down. "We gotta go. Now."

"Go? But you just got back!"

"I'm taking you with me this time. Get what you need and round up who ever you can find. Meet up down by the main entrance. Everybody needs to get out of here, like yesterday."

"Why?" Oh good god...couldn't she just do as she was told without playing twenty fucking questions?

"Because he may have found us." Raph snapped.

"Don't get snippy with me!"

"Then move your ass and I won't!"

She rolled her eyes at him before she turned to go back o her room, then stopped to face him again. "Raph?"

"What now?"

"Lotus... Is...is she ok?"

He walked over and took her hand. "She's a bit busted up, but she'll be fine. He got her pretty good though."

Tears of relief sprang to her eyes. Then she wiped them away and pulled out of his hand to do what was needed. Raph sighed as he watched her go, then branched off in another direction.

Fifteen minutes later ninjas came pouring out of the place even as the first warning calls came from the lookouts.

"Come on..." Raph whispered as he searched for that red hair even as he ushered the ninjas out the door and towards the other turtles who were already directing them which way to go. "Where are you?"

Finally, as the first parts of the building went up in flames, he spotted Holly and James as they came running towards him. "What took you so damn long?" He snapped as they drew closer.

"Had to make sure everyone was out." James replied even as Raph's brothers came running out of the building and the first of Shredder's ninjas made their appearance.

"Move!" Raph pushed them both in the direction they needed to go. "Follow the others!"

"What about you guys?" Holly stopped and turned around.

"We'll cover you, now go!"

"Not without you!" She firmly told him. _Why_ did she do this?

Raph reached out and pulled her close to him, then kissed her. Hard. James' eyebrow popped up at that. "I'll be fine. I can move faster without you and I know the way back. But if you don't get out of here, everyone is at risk. Please Holly, go."

"Be careful..." She told him, then kissed him again.

"I will. Now scoot!"

James didn't even give her the chance to argue about it, he drug her behind him that time.

Raph turned and his sai came out with a twirl even as the first group headed his way. His eyes narrowed as he stared them down. "Who's first?" They all volunteered at once. Well, that was kind of them, would save him the trouble of hunting them down.


	50. Chapter 50

Not long after Raph and his brothers rejoined the retreating group after a polite etiquette lesson to Shredder's men. Apparently they needed to be reminded why it was not nice to chase turtles around. Get your ass beat if ya did.

"Were you able to shake them?" Leonardo, who was pulling rear security for this group with Ty and Thane, asked.

"Had to beat a few of them into submission first." Raph told him. "But yeah, we weren't followed."

"We wouldn't want them sneaking up and disturbing Lotus' beauty sleep." Mikey grinned. "She's gonna need a lot of that if she's going to keep up with 'ol fearless here." Raph didn't know what stunned him more...the fact that his little brother actually said something like that, or the fact that even in this darkness he could see Leo blushing furiously.

"Knock it off." Leo then promptly smacked him on the back of the head.

"Well...it's true." Mikey rubbed his head. "You got a high sex drive."

"Will you quit!" Leo's hand came up again for another one and Mikey scurried off, his chuckling fading behind him.

Leonardo raised an eyeridge at that, a small smile on his face, but remained quiet.

Raph by now had his attention drawn away from the conversation anyway as James fell into step beside him. He was quiet a moment, watching Raph out of the corner of his eye.

"What." Raph finally grumbled at him.

"Soooo... How long has that been going on?"

"How long has what been going on?"

James turned and gave him a level look. "Really. You are going to make me embarrass us both by going there? How long have you been making kissy face with my sister?"

Raph blushed a little at that, if he only knew that it had already passed that stage... "I don't see where that is any of your business!"

"It is when it's my sister!" He flared back.

Leo turned at the noise, eyeridge raised questioningly. Lord...they both did that a lot Raph noticed. Another similarity between the two turtle leaders. Raph just waved a hand at him to let him know he could handle this. "Why? Does it bother you that she might care for someone like...me?"

"Of course not you dipshit." Raph growled a little at that but James ignored him. He even grabbed Raph's arm and turned him to face James fully as they paused for a moment. "But I do know you have a serious temper problem my friend. I won't allow her to get hurt because you can't control your impulses."

Raph blinked at that. "James... I would never hurt her." He said quietly. "She's the only one I never could hurt." He smiled as he remembered the encounter in their home...when she had made him run into the wall. "Even if I tried."

James chuckled himself then. "She told me about that."

Raph groaned. "Does she keep anything quiet?"

"Obviously she does, because I never had a fucking clue about you two."

The big turtle let out a sigh then. "Because it didn't feel right to me to let you guys know."

"Oh?" James said as they began to follow the others again.

"I think we all caught on to something." Raph began to explain to him. "Something...brewing in our little group."

"You mean the fact that Lotus has been mooning over your brother and he never noticed?"

"Good, I wasn't the only one who saw that. It's not an issue anymore. He had his eyes rudely awakened to it after what happened."

"And you didn't feel like spilling the beans between you two because you didn't want to add to to Lotus' issue."

"Something like that...yeah. That and with everything that's going on, it just wasn't the right time."

"But you thought it was the right time to start trying out sucky lips?"

Raph spluttered at that while James just laughed.

He had calmed himself again by the time they reached the other turtle's home. But someone else was starting to get fired up he noticed. The rest of the ninjas followed Vicky through the portal, Holly was in an argument with Leo. "I want to see her!"

"You will leave her alone! She's sleeping and I don't want you waking her up!"

"I don't care if she's in a damn coma! I want to see her!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I said no!"

"And I don't give a fuck!"

"Well this is going nowhere in a hurry." Donnie sighed.

"Both of you shut the hell up before you wake her up!" Donatello yelled to be heard over both of them. "Or I'll smack you both with my crutch!"

Holly looked at him a moment, then looked at Raphael. "I thought you were supposed to be the hot head."

"I am. But he gets a little excited where his patients are concerned."

"You don't seem so bad to me." She said then as she looked him over, then looked at Raph. "Creepy how much you two look alike."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Raphael replied.

"Just make sure you keep that mask on, or she might get confused and start kissing the wrong one." James grinned.

It was deathly still in that room as both Holly and Raph began to blush. Leo's eyeridge shot up again, Donnie stared at them...and Mikey finally bust out laughing.

"Trust a Raph to go for the hot argumentative one." Michelangelo grinned.

"Shut up you." Raphael told him.

"She's a bit shorter that Cris though. Do you have to get her a step ladder to kiss her?"

"Nah." Thane then grinned. "Just give her quick pecks as she hops up and down."

Holly's face was beet red by now, and Raph wasn't much better.

"Better watch it." Ari told him as she walked up. "Short doesn't always mean incapable."

"Pfft. Like she could do anything. She can barely spit over a smurf."

Ari just looked up at him. Raph noticed she wasn't much taller than Holly actually. Then quick as a flash she dropped down into a crouch, spun her leg around and swiped her cousin's out from under him. Then she rolled ontop of him and wrapped her three sectioned staff around his neck. He didn't move, he knew if he tried to throw her off that weapon would tighten around his neck. "I'm short too, but I can still whoop your butt."

"Oh, snap..." Ty grinned from where he watched nearby.

"Knock it off." Leonardo said then. "Ari, get off of your cousin."

She did as she was told, then glared at her father. "You want to make any more cracks about short folks? Do it. Just remember I know where you sleep at night. And I know all your prank ideas plus some. Rag on her again and you'll find your nunchucks superglued to your face." Michelangelo winced a little at that.

"Wow...do the kids run the place now?" Casey asked as she stormed away.

"Only when they are right." Leonardo told him. "We taught them to fight for what they believe in, and that may include their parents if they are in the wrong." He was watching Ty as he said that.

Ari had then stormed up to Leo. "I'm going to take her to see Lotus. She's obviously worried about her and you've been hogging her up since you got here. Don't like it... I know where you sleep too." Then she took Holly's hand and guided her down the hallway where the bedrooms were, Leo looking after them both a little baffled at what just happened. Then he just shook his head and followed Vicky and the ninjas through the lab and into the portal.

"Nice girl you got there." Raphael then said quietly next to him as he watched Holly go. "She's got spunk. I like spunk."

Raph looked at Raphael with amusement. "I noticed yours is a bit feisty too."

"She threw shit at you huh?"

"Yup."

"Cursing like a sailor the whole time?"

"Pretty much."

"Made peace with her?"

That one stunned him into silence as the other turtle watched with his arms crossed. "I...hope I did. I tried..."

"Did she hit you after you did?"

"Well...no."

"Then you got through to her. I know you got through to me. Ease your mind, she won't hold it against you anymore, I know I don't." Then he turned and walked towards the kitchen. Leaving Raph staring back at him with gratitude.

.

.

Leo looked out in wonder out across the property once the ninjas had all been settled in. The quiet, simple beauty of this place touched him somewhat as the sun began to rise. It was pretty much open fields, but had enough trees scattered around to hide them from prying eyes. His eyes wandered to the goats, now temporary homeless since they had all been shooed out of the barn. They didn't seem to care though as they happily grazed in the early morning light. A large horse also was out grazing, his black tail flicking into the air every once in awhile.

"Tell everyone to stay away from him." Vicky said as she joined him after she came out of the barn. "That's Beast, Cris' horse. He's old, but he's still a handful. Cris and my dad are pretty much the only ones who can safely get near him." Then she smiled. "And the teens, he'll let them near him, especially Thane."

"Interesting name choice."

"Interesting horse." She smiled back.

"I envy you." He then quietly said as he looked out. "To be able to live out here like this."

"It's nice." She agreed. "No nosy neighbors really. And it gives the teens a chance to come out in the open without having to hide. Something they don't really get to do over there."

"It's not necessary a good thing to be able to walk openly down the streets." He replied. "I had that privilege, but didn't like the way I earned it."

"Funny how things work out." She mused. "One group hides their whole lives because the world won't accept them, the other hides because they don't accept the world. Both both end up in the sewers." She chuckled. "That is one thing that will never change I guess, now matter how the Ninja Turtles came to be."

One of the goats had wandered up to them, her mouth chewing as she stopped in front of them, then looked up at Leo. "Baaa."

He looked curiously down at it, not really having seen one up close before and she butted her head against his leg gently. "Baaa."

"What does it want?" He asked Vicky confused as she butted her head against him again.

Vicky was chuckling again. "I'll bet you a turn at cleaning Mikey's cooking mess you got food stashed in your clothes somewhere." She looked down at the goat. "Ain't that right Mama Goat?"

"Baaa."

Leo smiled as he reached into a pouch and pulled out some trail mix he had almost forgotten about. "May I?"

"Go ahead. She won't leave you alone until you do. Dad has spoiled her rotten."

Leo knelt down and poured some into his hand and held it out to the brown creature, who quickly began to eat it. As she did, he reached out his other hand and gently stroked the rough coat. He was actually a little awed over this silly thing that nudged him for more. He obliged and poured some more in his hand. This was so different than hiding and fighting. Here was a place they could all relax and enjoy little moments like this. He had never before even been in a location like this, not having to fear or worry. He could just...be. He would be grateful for the experience. He emptied the last of the trail mix in his hand and fed it to the goat, still stroking her neck. Once done she began to nudge him again. "Baaa."

"I'm sorry." He smiled at her. "I don't have anymore."

She sniffed and butted a couple more times before she turned with a huff and walked off, flicking her tail. Leo felt oddly disappointed at that. Vicky caught the look and smiled a gentle smile at him. "Want to help me feed them?"

"Yes. If you don't mind..."

"Of course not. It's that time of day anyway. Come on."

Leo looked out again over the calm morning before he followed her. The calm before the storm he knew was coming.


	51. Chapter 51

Leo followed Vicky back through her small, but comfortable home and back into the lair not long after. A small bemused smile on his face still. He decided he liked goats, maybe if he had room for one...

"Shit's pretty messed up." She said quietly to Leonardo as she settled down onto the couch next to him.

He responded to her presence by placing an arm around her shoulders. "You noticed."

Casey walked over and flopped himself down into the recliner next to them. "Now that we got that out of the way, someone mind filling me in on what exactly is going on?"

"More than we originally thought." Leonardo informed him. "The recent Purple Dragon activity has more to do than them just pulling heists. They were preparing for him to come over."

"And trying to get rid of the guys." Vicky added. "I guess he didn't want to come here with them still running around causing mayhem to his goons."

"No, that was not his intent." Leo agreed as he moved closer. "He didn't want to come here with you being able to interfere."

"Then why did he?" Casey asked. "I mean if Hun failed, for the past what...sixteen years...to get rid of them, why is he still interested in coming here?"

"Greed, I would assume. That and his patience has wore thin waiting. Add also the fact that we...abandoned him, it cut into his timing. He's had to retrain new seconds, since we were no longer available to him."

Ari was looking thoughtful at us as she sat on the floor nearby watching TV. Her eyes had narrowed then widened. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Leonardo asked her.

"I knew there was something we were overlooking." She mumbled then looked at Leonardo. "Hun, he didn't come onto your radar until after Aunt Vicky had her first run in with Bishop, right?"

"True. Before then we hadn't even heard of him, or of the Dragons."

"Now that I know about you..." She glanced at Leo. "And how you came to be here, is it safe to assume that both were sent here around the same time? You to take out our fathers and Hun to, so to say, scout the area and the layout of the land?"

"Yes, little one, that is exactly how it was supposed to play out." Leo said somberly.

"So Hun has had close to twenty years to figure stuff out, who you are, how you operate, what you can do, and he has been reporting it all back to Shredder."

"And he now thinks he knows us well enough to move against us himself..." Leonardo said quietly as he looked at the girl who just pieced it all together for him.

"The only thing he didn't know about...was us." She agreed. "We are the unknowns in his equation. He has no idea really about anything concerning us teens."

"Because we kept you hidden from Hun all of these years." Vicky said thoughtfully and Ari nodded.

"And in doing so, he has no idea what we can do." Then she grinned wryly. "And our first run in with Hun probably didn't set us in the 'turtles we need to worry about' category, we were pretty incompetent."

"Only because you were inexperienced and not used to working as a team." Leonardo told her as his eyes took on a thoughtful tone as he looked at her, then let his gaze wander over her cousins who were starting to emerge from various parts of their home and move closer to listen.

Then his eyes seemed to decide something and he stood up and walked over to them. He met all of their eyes intently a moment before he took a deep breath, then spoke. "There was a time when we tried to shelter you from the dangers out there." He began. "Now, I found that, without your help, recent events may have played out completely different. You have all grown quickly, shown that you can think quick and look out for one another. We originally trained you so you would be able to defend yourselves, never really wanting to thrust you into this life we lead, but knowing the dangers of being what we are. I would have never of forced you into this, but you accepted it when this life came to you." Even Leo had to admit these teens were quick, and capable. Just from the little he's seen so far. "You actually sought it out on your own when you snuck out that night. Know this, we will always be there for you if you need us, will still give you our guidance and advice, but from here on out, you are your own team. And you, my son," Leonardo placed his hand on Ty's shoulder. "I charge you with the task of leading them."

His eyes grew wide as I said that. "But...Father...I-I can't...why not let Thane do it?"

"Hell no!" Thane protested.

"Watch your mouth!" Cris snapped.

"Because I see in you the same thing my father saw in me." Leonardo ignored the laughter that outburst caused. "Ty, you have the potential, I know you do. To stand up to your own Father when he's acting like a fool tells me a lot about what you can do."

"Besides," Vicky smiled as she joined them "it's in your genes."

"That too." He grinned at her. "But I wasn't going to brag about it. Seriously though, you are more ready than you think you are, more ready than I wanted to see. But my eyes have been opened to it in recent events, and it's time to let you go out on your own. To keep sheltering you will only weaken you and right now we need the strength you have." He looked at them all one more time, his eyes unreadable. "Are you ready to accept this burden?"

"Pfft, what burden?" Ari grinned back at her uncle. "I'm ready to kick some Purple Dragon butt all over this town."

"And now we know who the Mikey is in this bunch." Raphael muttered.

"You didn't expect anyone else to be it did you?" Donatello grinned at him.

Ty looked at his sister and cousins, and nods met his unspoken question before he turned back to his father. "We accept, Father."

"It's all we've ever wanted to do." Lavi added. "To be able to help, in some way."

"They won't know what hit 'em." Thane grinned.

"Yeah they will, giant turtles." Michelangelo grinned back.

"Giant turtles with big sticks and pointy weapons." Ari joined in.

"Oh brother..." Raphael muttered.

Amy smiled at the younger turtles when she walked over to them, then threw her arm around her younger brother. "Welcome to the turtle patrol guys. It's about time you get to experience the thrills of going out and whoopin' ass on your own."

Ty just swallowed hard as he looked as his sister. "I just hope I don't screw it up."

"Spoken like a true son of Leo's." Raphael grinned at him. "Boy, your Father still hopes to this day he doesn't screw shit up. It's when you stop worrying about it is when you start really fucking up, because you grow overconfident."

"And I think it's time we reminded someone that he is indeed very over confident." Leonardo told them all. "Donnie, pull up whatever you can on that building down by the docks Casey told us about. Let's see if we can't figure out what they are actually up too."

"Then we get to do what we do best." Michelangelo grinned again.

"And what would that be?" Leo asked him curiously.

"Throw in a monkey wrench and watch it blow his plan all to hell."

"Now who's overconfident?" Cris asked archly.

"Not me. It's a known fact, especially if that wrench has 'Donnie' or any variation thereof written all over it."

They all groaned and rolled their eyes over that one.

Donatello then moved over to his lab to get started on the task given him and Leo walked towards Lotus' room. Holly just came out of it even as he took the first few steps. Then she stomped over to where Michelangelo was quietly talking to Vicky. Leo sighed when he saw the anger flash in her eyes and turned away from his destination to deal with what he somehow knew was coming. Once the embarrassment had settled she had time to stew. Not good.

"You!" Holly snapped at the orange masked turtle as she put her hands on her hips.

"Oh no..." Leo groaned. Where the hell was Raph? Couldn't he deal with this?

"Yes?" Michelangelo calmly looked back at her.

"You and that overgrown hatrack over there," She waved a hand at Thane who was nearby, watching amused "seriously think you can get away with calling me short? I'll whoop your asses you supersized brussel sprout!"

"Brussel sprout?" Vicky's eyebrow came up as she tried not to laugh. "Never heard you called that before."

Mikey grinned at her, then looked at Ari. "And? What do the rules say on this one pumpkin?"

The teen didn't even look up from her magazine she was reading on the couch. "Fair game. She started it that time." She calmly turned the page.

"Well now..." Mikey grinned even wider. "So...are you always this short tempered or are you just mad because you need help to step off of the curb?"

Leo was almost next to Holly, but he still wasn't close enough. Her arm lashed out in a swing at him. Michelangelo just easily leaned out of the way and it missed. Then she tried to do the same maneuver Ari did to Thane earlier and he calmly leapt up out of the way. Her face was turning red from anger when she spun and launched a kick to his head, then her eyes widened when he caught the leg in mid air...leaving her hopping uncomfortably on the other foot. "Had enough yet tiny?"

Her eyes narrowed as she hopped up with the other leg and tried to kick him with that one. He caught that one too and now she was hanging upside down, held up by the ankles of the turtle she was trying to beat the crap out of. Before she could even try and punch him Michelangelo tossed her up into the air. Her arms and legs pinwheeled wildly as she flew. She landed with a bounce onto the couch next to Ari, who didn't even flinch as she turned the page again. "You asked for that one." The blonde girl said.

Vicky calmly looked at the redhead, her eyebrow still raised and amusement on her face. "Word of the wise, Holly was it?, you may be tough as nails out there on the streets fighting thugs and goons, but these aren't thugs and goons. Don't start a fight you can't finish. Even I know better than that."

"Yeah...and she's more stubborn that you are." Michelangelo grinned.

Vicky turned at glared at him and he just gave her that cheesy ass smile. She laughed and shook her head.

"I thought you would have learned that by now already." Leo sighed at Holly as she still sat on the couch, looking a bit stunned.

She stuck her tongue out at him. Leo just rolled his eyes and turned to go back the way he was headed. If she wanted to learn the hard way, he wasn't going to try and stop her again. He did wonder how many times she would go flying across the room before it dawned on her that she was clearly outmatched here. Known her? He was counting pretty high.


	52. Chapter 52

It was the soft touch against her cheek that woke her this time. She knew it was him before her eyes even opened, and when they did they met his light brown ones. They shared a soft smile as his thumb still ran along her cheek.

"We're leaving soon." He told her. "I just wanted to see you before we go."

She knew it was coming, but found that she really didn't want it too now. "How soon?" She asked quietly, worry now filling her. Because she knew what he would be going up against. This had been the whole reason behind them coming here after all.

"Still a few hours yet before it's time. But I wanted to spend them with you."

Her hand covered his that was still on her cheek as her gaze never left his. "So soon? I had hoped to be able to join you."

"I know."

Needing him so much at the moment, she reached out a hand and pulled on his harness and he came down and pressed his lips against hers. She didn't want this to end, wanted time to stop. She didn't want him to go... Tears began to fill her eyes as everything that could happen out there flooded her mind.

She pulled away from him, her lip trembling as she tried to control those fears. "Finally able to show you how I feel, and now I might lose you to him."

"But at least you now know for sure, there won't ever be that doubt in you."

"Still...I...I...can't lose you now." It was then she knew. She had to show him what he meant to her, she wanted to be close to him but might never get the chance again. Lotus fought through her rising embarrassment for even saying this in such an abrupt fashion, not sure how it would be received. "I want you." She finally whispered out. "Just one time before you go..."

The pure shock in his face told her how much he wasn't expecting that. "Lotus, no...you are in no condition..."

"Then be gentle, My Master." She fought back the tears again as she fully made what she was offering clear. "I am still a virgin. I never found anyone worthy of the right to take it from me. Then I realised it was you that I wanted to have the honor...and I may not get another chance to give it to you. Maybe in this way you will have something of me to take with you..." The sheer astonishment on his face made her worry that maybe she had pushed too hard, but she so dearly wanted him to have this privilege. And she wanted to feel him one time...just one time... "Please..."

She could feel him begin to tremble as he looked at her a long while, swallowing hard a few times as as his mind tried to figure out how to deal with this. He actually startled her when his harness came off and the katanas crashed to the floor with a clatter, followed by the rest of his warlike gear. Then he came in and crushed his lips to hers.

She returned the kiss just as hard, her arms wrapping themselves around his neck as she fully gave herself to him. Her mouth opened wider and his tongue came in and met hers. For the first time in her life she felt the slow ache of wanting as he softly and slowly ran his hand under the blanket and down her side. A moan escaped her mouth and into his.

Leonardo pulled away from her so he could remove that cloth barrier that hid her from him and she laid there fully exposed since she had nothing to wear. Her clothing had all been ruined and the only thing now covering her was the bandages covering her massive wound. His breath caught in his throat as he looked her over, but she wasn't ashamed that he saw her this way. Lotus had wanted him to see her for a long time...now it was happening. Her own breathing was heavy with nervous anticipation as she waited for him. The ache in her lower body grew as his eyes seemed to be caught on her body.

The wait didn't last long. Her legs were spread and she watched as he lowered his head to her mound, not quite sure what to expect. A new feeling shot through her as she felt the first gentle touches of his lips against her. Never had Lotus felt something like this before and a gasp escaped her stunned lips. And when he pushed his tongue against her the feeling intensified. Her eyes closed as she moaned, she couldn't hold it in if she tried.

Lotus couldn't control herself. A woman who was always in control was now helpless as he continued to please her. Her fingers dug into the bed sheets under her as her pelvis pushed against him, wanting so much more from him. He answered that by gently inserting a finger inside her which raised the intensity and her hips began to move as if they had a mind of their own. He just held them still as her head whipped back and forth on the pillows, trying to release the pressure that was slowly starting to build within her. She was so close to...something. She just knew she wanted to feel it. "Leonardo..." she breathed "Oh Leonardo..." as her body struggled to find the release it was now badly wanting.

He didn't give it. Instead he removed his hand and brought himself over her again before bringing his head in for another, hungry, kiss. Her hands moved over his body, taking it all in. His muscles, his rough skin intrigued her as her hand wandered. She felt them both before, during training and missions, but now they felt so much different under her fingertips. Lotus ran into the barrier of his pants and began to process of removing that last thing that stood in their way. Once they had been dealt with, her hand wandered even further down but stopped in confusion when she couldn't find what should be there.

He smiled at her after pulling away from her kiss. "Let me show you." Came the soft whisper in her ear as his hand guided her. Once the hands reached an area that felt...different he pushed her hand down hard on that spot. She was stunned by the reaction to that. A peculiar sound came from him, a trilling noise, as his head dropped to her shoulder. Never had she heard him make that sound before, but took it to be a good thing. She brushed against him again and was rewarded with the same sound, louder this time. Lotus, now growing more confident, kept stroking him as his own breathing picked up. Finally something warm and heavy fell into her palm and he moaned loudly as a shudder raced over his body. She was a bit nervous on how big it was, then she firmly pushed the feeling away. Except for the pain she knew that came with losing her virginity she knew he wouldn't hurt her, not her Leonardo.

"Master..." She said softly. "I am ready."

"I told you, I'm not your master anymore." He gently reminded her.

"Yes, you are. You are the Master of my heart...I love you...I've always loved you..."

His eyes softened at those words and he lowered himself between her legs, then slid his forearms under her shoulder blades. He was so close to her, chest touching chest, as he slowly pushed into her. Her eyes grew wide as he filled her, pleasure grew as her body adjusted around him. Then he paused as he looked deep into her eyes. "I'm sorry, my love...this may hurt..."

Lotus only managed a nod as he still held her eyes. Then he thrust in, hard. She cried out as pain filled her for a moment. His arm tightened around her as she did and he brought his head close to hers. "I'm sorry..." He whispered in her ear as he held her close to him.

The pain quickly subsided however and she felt the renewed need again and she moved her pelvis against him. His response was almost immediate as he thrust into her again. Lotus' world was turned upside down with what he was doing inside of her. The pain was quickly forgotten as she felt him move against her. Pleasure was all she felt now as he pushed in her, again and again. His now heavy breathing warmed her neck as he kept his movements going and her body ached for more as her legs wrapped around him. Her whimpers and moans filled the air as he kissed her neck. She lost herself in his embrace, felt safe in his arms, and felt his love as he pushed on. This was more than she had ever hoped for, wished for it countless times and now it was happening.

She felt the beginning of another sensation begin to build in her. Her legs tightened around him even as her moans became more desperate. Even the her lower body seemed to clamp against his member as it intensified. He quickened the pace now, his own need echoing from him as he churred again and again. Their breathing was rapid pants now. His arms tightened around her to hold her still to keep her from aggravating her injury even as he, pushing in hard, made her fall over that edge.

Her head slammed into the pillow as ecstasy hit her, her body tensed and tightened as the waves washed over her. "I love you!" Was ripped from her throat as he thrust again, churring loudly as she felt him fill her. "Leonardo...I love you..." She gasped as her body went limp under him, breathing heavily.

Nothing but love and wonder filled her now as he looked into her eyes. "I love you." He whispered to her before placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Are you alright?"

"More than you could ever know..." Was the reply. "It was...how I dreamed it would be." Better even than how she had dreamed it would be, because this wasn't a dream. It was real.

"At least I could make that come true for you." He was still leaning over her on his elbows, and he seemed content to stay there. They softly kissed for awhile, each taking comfort in the presence of the other as they reinforced the feelings they shared. Soon enough not even those strong feelings could keep the exhaustion she now felt at bay and she soon drifted off.

It was the movement on the bed that woke her again. He was getting up, and he was rearming himself. He had apparently already redressed while she slept. Again the fears washed over her as she watched her lover get ready. Once he was done Leonardo walked over to her and placed another kiss against her lips.

"Please, come back to me." She whispered.

"I will do everything I can to make sure I do." He kissed her again. "I now have someone to love waiting for me to return."

He brushed her cheek gently one last time, then turned and walked towards the door. Once there he paused and looked back at her. "I love you, Lotus. I love you so much. Never forget that." Then he was gone and she was alone in the room.

Lotus stared at that closed door a long, very long, while, holding back her fears and her worries. But in the end they finally won out and she began to cry. "Please be careful..." She whispered out as the first tears made their way down her face. "Please..."


	53. Chapter 53

Leo's arms were shaking as he cleaned himself up, carefully wiping away the proof that Lotus had indeed given him the most precious thing she could. Once finished he placed his arms onto the sink and leaned heavily on them to calm his trembling. He still really couldn't quite believe what they had just done, still couldn't process the emotions that were tumbling around in his head. But was touched beyond words by how much she loved him. She could have chosen any of the men she had recruited...but she wanted him... Evil past, broken, burdened, sometimes irritable Leonardo...

No... He looked up from where his head had dropped between his shoulders and into the mirror. His past was now firmly behind him. He wasn't broken or burdened anymore. He had her and he was now whole and he had every intention of ridding his world of that burden. To make it a better place for her. He was still irritable sometimes though.

He looked at his refection in the mirror. He was both very happy right at that moment, but also filled with a sadness. Knowing where he was going tonight and who he was more than likely going to run into out there filled him with anxiety he had never really felt before. If something happened to him...who would care for her? Would she be able to move on? Before now he wouldn't have given these matters a second thought, but now he found that he was reluctant to go. He knew she would worry, but to be completely honest with himself... He didn't want to leave her. Not now... What he wanted to do was go back into that room and do it all over again and close out the world behind that door. But he couldn't.

The reflection that he saw in that mirror still looked the same, but he himself had changed. Changed so much. Overall for the better, but he was feeling like something was missing still. Leo really couldn't figure out what as he took in those familiar features. The scarred face that had been through so much, the light brown eyes that had see many things. The black strip of cloth that didn't like to stay on his head when Lotus started on one of her cleaning fits and made him sneeze... It was all the same, but why did he feel like something wasn't...right?

Shaking the feeling away, he straightened and turned from the mirror. Now wasn't the time to puzzle it out. By the time he emerged from the bathroom the others had already gathered and were ready. The teens were talking quietly by the lair entrance as the other group of turtles came out of the dojo. All of them now armed and ready. James already had the ninjas waiting in the tunnels outside. It was time.

Leo however had one more thing he had to do before they left and his eyes sought the lair until they found Caitlin. He felt a little sheepish now as he walked over. But he had to say something...Lotus had bled heavier than expected...not that he expected to... He tried to control the blush that was about to spread across his face.

"Caitlin, may I ask something of you?" He quietly asked her when he stopped in front of her inquiring expression.

"Sure, what did you need?"

"I...I need nothing." Leo couldn't meet her eyes. He was still trying to fight his embarrassment for even asking, but he wasn't going to leave her lying in those soiled sheets. "But Lotus she..." He took a deep breath "She may require some new sheets."

"I think I can manage that." She told him with a smile.

"You don't fully understand." He looked at her for the first time since he started this conversation. "We-"

"You ready or not!" Raphael called to him, making him jump a little. "The night isn't getting any younger you know."

He just closed his eyes and sighed. "Please, keep what you find quite, for her sake, and watch over her while I am gone."

Confusion came across her features then, but she didn't push it. A fact he was grateful for. "I will, I promise."

His throat clamping shut now, he just gave her a nod and turned to join the others.

"What was that all about?" Leo heard Donatello ask after the purple masked turtle joined her.

"None of your business." She told him.

Leo heard the brief exchange, and turned to give her a grateful look.

"All right then." Leonardo said. "We all know what to do, right?" They all nodded their confirmations. "Then, if there are no questions, let's get to it."

Leo and his brothers were the closest to the door, and the teens who watched their approach with solemn eyes. Then, without speaking, they all moved into a position that completely blocked the door. Ty stood there with a firm expression on his face as he crossed his arms, his sister and cousins fanning out beside him. Leo stopped, confused and shocked now as he looked into those unusual blue/brown eyes.

"Not just yet." The eldest boy said as he looked over the turtles in front of him. "There is still one more matter that needs to be addressed."

"Jeez, you give the boy a chance at leadership and his head swells up like a balloon." Raphael grumbled. "Now what?"

"Simple, Dad." Thane answered him, then turned his own gaze at the group in front of him. "I'm putting in a formal complaint. Black is my color. I earned the right to choose it and wear it. And I resent the fact that you guys are running around putting a bad name to my color. The only one who is going to fuck up in black, is me."

Leo and his brothers exchanged confused looks, not really understanding what the teenager wanted them to do about it.

"We also resent the fact that you disgrace our Fathers by wearing a color that was assigned to you by someone you now all fight against." Ty added. "We all feel that is something that belongs in the past with your, dark side." He looked at his Father who had sported a knowing grin, and Ty returned it. "It's time you wore your rightful colors."

Leo's eyes widened as he began to understand what was happening here. And it became even more clear when Lavi stepped forward, pulling out a brand new blue mask from her belt as she approached him. "It would be an honor, and my pleasure, to present to you this mask. You've more than earned the right to wear it." She told him as she unfolded the cloth. Ari came up next with an orange one, Thane with red and Dante with purple. All of them opened and ready to wear.

Leo looked at Lavi, his eyes still wide before he rapidly began to blink the tears away. God he was such a sap...he found himself moved to that point so much around his bunch as they seemed to, time and time again, strike him in his weakest spots. This was something he would never had dreamed of doing, because he never felt worthy to wear the color. Not the way his counterpart was. The teens obviously thought differently, with their Father's full approval he noticed as he caught sight of the smiles filling faces around him.

"No child, the honor is mine." He had to struggle to keep his voice composed and when he knelt, it only wasn't to receive the mask she was holding. Those knees were about to give out anyway. She quickly took off the old mask, threw it onto the floor with a slight sneer, then carefully tied the new one around his face. Then she took his hand and guided him back to his feet.

"Now that looks so much better on you." She smiled. "Less gloomy."

Leo didn't know what to say as he looked at his brothers. Each now wearing the appropriate color. It...fit them...

"Now, we can go." Ty said as he finally stepped aside.

Raphael quickly wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. "'Bout fucking time." He struggled to hide a sniffle. "Keep delaying like this and we'll never get this shit done." Cris just looked at him with a knowing smile and a raised brow. "What?" He grumped at her.

"Oh...nothing. Nothing that you would admit too anyway...you big softy." And she began to walk out the door.

"I am not!" He bellowed as he followed her.

Leonardo followed them but paused long enough to place a hand on his children's shoulder. "Well done you two." He murmured before he walked on.

"Thank you." Leo finally was able to get out, even if he did choke on it a bit. Again he was overwhelmed by what just happened. He was starting to wonder if he was ever going to stop feeling that way. So much has happened the last few days... "We will wear them with honor."

"I know you will, because you already have that honor." Ty replied.

They then left, Leo walking side by side with this teen. The last remaining reminder of his past now lying on the floor behind them. With a start he realised that this was the final piece missing, and it wasn't anymore.

.

.

"But I don't want to go with them!" Holly flared when she was firmly told that she and her brother would accompany the teens. "I want to go with you!"

"No." Leo firmly held his ground. "You will not."

"He's right cupcake." Raph agreed quietly as she glared at them both.

" _Why!_ Their family members get to fight with them!"

Leo sighed as they walked. He should have know she would throw a shitfit. "But they are also going to make it perfectly clear to them that they are _not_ to interfere." He turned his head to her. "I'm not so sure you would follow that same order."

"Damn right I won't." She crossed her arms.

"Which is why you are going with the teens." Raph told her. Then he stopped and turned her to face him. "Please. Just for once, don't argue about it... I want you to be safe. You'll be safer with them. They aren't even going to be remotely close to him."

"I don't _want_ to be safe! I want to fight with you!"

"I'm not going to take you with me knowing we are more than likely going to draw him out!" Raph finally lost his temper with her. "The teens are going in, destroy the portal and come back out. The rest of us are going to distract him and his men so it can be done! I can't do that and worry about you at the same time!"

Her eyes started to fill with tears as she took that in. Leo added another punch. "And if something happens to us, who will take care of Lotus? She won't have anyone...to..." He cut himself off as his own throat closed up just thinking about it and he turned away. "Just...go with them..."

He didn't make it far when this time it was him being turned back around, by James. "Is that what's bothering you?"

"More than a little." Leo admitted quietly.

James looked at Holly who met his eyes, then let out a defeated sigh. "Fine...I'll go with them."

"Leo, we promise you, we will look after Lotus." James told him. "We will do everything we can for her."

Leo swallowed hard as he met the man's eyes then those of Holly's who returned his somber look, then nodded slowly. "Thank you..." He whispered out, barely even able to even say that as his throat closed up again.

James just placed a hand on his shoulder and when they moved on again there were no more arguments about it.


	54. Chapter 54

Leo looked out from his position, waiting for the signal that the others were also ready. He had the eerie sensation of being calm but nervous at the same time as he looked over their point of entry. His team would tackle the arms room, the other turtles the garage while the teens tackled the portal. The objective to disarm the man as much as possible and cut off his support from home. If it worked out that way was yet to be seen.

Even as he firmly set that task in his mind, it also wandered back to the woman he left behind. He held her close to him, drawing strength from her. He hoped it would be enough.

"The others are ready." Donnie told him as he walked up.

Leo gave a calm nod, still quietly looking out. Then with a deep breath he gathered himself. "Let's go."

With Lotus close to his heart, he flipped off the building, the others and his small group of ninjas following him.

.

.

James popped up out of the water near these unusual teenagers after they snuck in through the underground entrance Donatello had found. Their Donatello. He was still a bit confused over who was who sometimes. A lot of turtles running around lately...

He found himself surrounded by a crap load of mini subs. Apparently the man was closer than they had thought as he took in what was going on around him. The history of his own world seemed to repeat itself here. Shredder was very close to starting his plans of expansion.

Dante removed his mouthpiece from his scuba gear, which all of them wore. "They all have shields on them." He barely breathed, so not to alert the guards walking along on the catwalks not far away. "If it hadn't been for the adjustments that Donatello made to our gear, I'd never be able to pick up the readings off of them."

"Stealth subs?" Ty, the appointed leader of this group asked as he looked around. At first James wasn't so sure this young kid would be able to handle this, but he was rapidly being proven wrong. The kid was good.

"It would seem that way. I think it's also safe to assume that if they are shielded like this, that they also would block out any type of radars."

Ty frowned. "What on earth would he need these for"

"Simple." Ari said. "You don't need a big submarine to take out warships, just get close enough to blow a hole in their side."

"Are you saying he's trying to blow up the whole Navy?" Thane asked her skeptically.

"He doesn't need to, just take out a few ships and leak out something like 'China did it' and you've got a very tense situation. More so if he does it to both sides. And once that's started, who's to say that he will stop there? If he does this right he could make a big mess of things."

James blinked at that as he quietly listened. Girl was quick. She figured out with just a glimpse what was going to happen that his own world never saw coming.

"A World War?" Lavi asked her. "What is the point behind that?"

"The chaos it brings, Young Mistress." James finally spoke up, showing her and her family the respect they were rapidly deserving. "It is how he started on our world. He brought it to chaos, then carved his place in it. Forming a base of power in which he was able to expand."

"And now he's trying to do the same here." Ty muttered as it all clicked together.

"Indeed. Which is why the Masters came here, they did not wish the same fate on your world that has happened to ours."

"Big difference this time around though." Thane said.

"Oh?" Lavi said as she looked at him.

"He had four turtles helping him then. Now he's got them on the other side of the fence."

"Not to mention our fathers." Ari grinned.

"Speaking of." Ty looked back towards the dock area. "It's time for us to do what we came to do." He put the mouthpiece in and slipped back under the water and the rest of them followed suit.

Carefully they swam closer to the docks until they found a secluded spot in a dark corner. Once they had all gathered the scuba gear quickly came off and was allowed to drop down. It would just weigh them all down if they tried to keep it.

Ty pulled himself up just enough over the edge to get a glimpse of what they were dealing with. WHich wasn't much stealth wise.

"I hope this kid knows what he's doing..." Holly mumbled quietly next to him as Ty scouted the place out.

"He seems to have a good head on his shoulders." James answered her. "Which really isn't surprising if you consider who his Father is and who raised them."

She just sighed as she watched Thane join his cousin and a quiet conversation ensued between the two.

"What's the matter?" James asked his sister.

"I don't want to be here babysitting them." She replied. "I want to be with Raph."

"I know pipsqueak. But they do have a good reason on why they did what they did." Then he smiled at her. "And I'm not so sure these kids need babysitters. Doing pretty good so far."

"We'll see."

Before he could answer that Ty pointed to a nearby crane and motioned all of them to swim towards it. James looked it over as he swam next to his sister and noticed that it was in the perfect spot for them to get to the top of the various stacks of crates, giving them a perfect, unseen highway to the door on the far side of the room. He smiled, they _were_ good...

Within a few minutes they were all happily hopping along from one pile to another before they made it to the entrance on the far side of the room. Then just as carefully they slipped through it, silently blending up into the rafters the came in handy right behind it.

"This way." Dante told them, then led the group quickly down the corridors, bringing them to an elevator shaft. Thane and Ty quickly pried it open and Ty was the last one in as he kept watch behind them. Once the last ninja went through, Thane and Ty stepped in and let the doors close. Then they all climbed couple of levels before Dante stopped. "We are pretty much on the ground floor now." He informed Ty as he made his way up to him.

"Which way do we need to go?"

"Once out the door, we need to break right. But there isn't anything there to hide us this time really."

"So, it's going to have to be a mad dash." Ty mumbled and he nodded.

"Good thing is, we won't have far to go. Just a few doors down."

"Yeah, but all it's going to take is one moron to see us and it's over." Thane so positively brought to their attention. James grinned. These guys were just as amusing as their elders.

"That's where you place faith in the others." Lavi calmly told him as she hung on the cables next to us.

"Oh sure, but how do we know they will manage to get them all out of the area?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a rumble that came through the building and it shook the cables they were hanging on slightly, then again and another time. Then a few more came form another part of the building. Immediately the alarms started going off, and there was the sounds of footsteps running on the other side of the elevator doors. Then it was all quiet, if you didn't count the annoying wailing coming through the door.

"Like I said." Lavi said calmly. "Have faith in the others." Thane just swallowed hard and nodded. James chuckled as Holly rolled her eyes.

After a quick look in the corridor, which was empty, they shot out of that elevator shaft and ran like hell. The small group of ninjas easily keeping up with with the young turtles. Dante stopped so fast next to the door they were aiming for that his feet slid a few feet before he hooked up to the lock, then opened it.

James only had an instant to take in the room before they charged in. It was a large, very large, open space with all kinds of equipment and control panels running along the walls. Set against the far back wall of the room was a very large portal, the reason they were here. It was their job to take that thing out. Which James noticed wasn't going to go as easily planned as they had hoped, there were quite a few of those robot in here, not to mention the twenty or so men that were in the process of coming through that portal. These weren't Hun's men however, they were ninjas, except these wore red.

"Fuck..." James muttered under his breath. Apparently this mission wasn't the least dangerous of them all as the older turtles had hoped. "Be wary Young Masters! These are his personal guards! They are all highly trained!" This was the only other group besides the turtles themselves that scared the majority of the population on his world, for good reason. They may not be as skilled as his friends, but they were a close second, and just as ruthless as they used to be.

"Well, ain't that just great." Thane muttered as he pulled out his hook swords. "I guess someone should tell them...we are too."

"Move!" Ty snapped and they all scattered in different directions as the robots started to fire.

"I was wondering how long it would take you predictable fools to make it here!" Spencer almost crowed from the back of the room. "The Master suspected something like this might happen, just not really the group I was hoping to see. He's pleasantly surprised to have so many turtles to play with."

James found himself fighting next to his sister as the shit hit the fan, her bo twirling around her as she knocked one of the robots away, then her tanto came out and she stabbed the thing in the head and she kicked it off of her blade. "Well this is going great!" She snapped as another closed in. "Thought this was supposed to be the easy part!"

"Pay attention shorty!" Thane snapped as his hook sword came over and around her to take another robot behind her. "You can complain later about the planning."

"Shorty!" She flared.

"Would you prefer peewee?" He growled back.

"Both of you hush!" Ty snapped as he spun around a blast from another robot, and right into the katana of one of the red clad ninjas.

James took a moment to watch that fight as Ty didn't even falter from the challenge. Then his eyes grew wide as the ninja went down with just a few blows. "Holy...fucking...shit..." He mumbled. This kid easily took out one of the most highly trained ninjas in his world...and barely blinked doing it...

Ari seemed almost bored with hers. Her three sectioned staff easily spun around her, and her opponent was just as quick to hit the floor. Suddenly James had a surge of hope as he met Holly's stunned eyes. Maybe they did have a chance...

Lavi was the fiercest out of all of them though. She beat her way over to Spencer who was rapidly growing unsure as these teens easily knocked the ninjas down as quick as they came, and the robots were already thinning out as well. Too late he decided fleeing might be the best idea here, but by then he was close enough for Lavi to throw one of her tonfas, entangling his legs and causing him to face plant into the floor. She was on him in an instant and slammed him into a nearby control panel even as the last men behind her fell. Dante had by now reached a control panel and shorted out all the robots, and they all fell over with a clang.

Soon Lavi's determination became clear when she snarled in the man's face. "You knew we were coming?"

"Suspected..." He squeaked.

She slammed him again as Ty walked over. "How much more did you 'suspect'?" He grimly asked the man.

"I um, well,..." Lavi slammed him again, harder this time. Even James winced at that one. "He's already engaging them in the central power room!" Spencer squealed out in pain. "Hun is there too with the rest of our ninjas!"

"Fuck..." Thane said as he and Ty met gazes. "Cousin, they don't stand a chance against all of that, not with him there..."

"The orders were clear." Lavi reminded them. "Destroy the portal and get out."

"Fuck the orders." Ty said quietly to his sister, who really didn't seem to disagree with that statement. "Dante! Take out that portal." Ty's eyes narrowed. "And see what you can do about his underground sub shop."

"On it." The yellow masked turtle replied.

"And then what?" Ari crossed her arms.

Ty sighed as he looked around at the ninjas. "We are going to help our family. I won't order you to help us."

Holly and James looked at each other. "Well...they _did_ tell us to say with the teens..." James told his sister.

"And we _did_ promise Leo we would take care of Lotus...what better way of taking care of her than bringing him back?"

James and Holly shared a wide grin with Ty. "I've got an idea..." The turtle said as he nudged a downed red clad ninja with his foot. "I think it's time for a wardrobe change." He looked around. "For all of you."

"You heard the turtle!" James told the ninjas with them. "Suit up...and be quick about it!"


	55. Chapter 55

"You are all fools. Pathetically predictable. And _weak_!" Shredder sneered at them all before knocking Leo away. He hit the ground in a roll before he came back up, his own sneer now on his face as he looked at his former Master.

Things had gone according to plan. He was able to get the armory taken care of and the other group took out the garage. But there still hadn't been any word from the teens when they had joined here to take out the main power supply to the place. That had worried Leonardo a bit, because they couldn't take this out with them in the building. It was too risky. But that was nothing compared to the fear the Fathers felt, all the parents here actually felt, when Shredder entered that room and told them all the Teens had been intercepted.

What made it even worse for Leo's friends was they couldn't even go out and get to them, not with Shredder here. And when Hun came out of a secret room and blocked the humans off from escaping, shit got ugly real fast as the turtles took on the evil man, to try and give the others the time to get away.

Even from here he could hear Vicky and Cris cursing as they tried to break free from Shredder's forces. To either get out or come to their aid, but neither of those directions were in the cards though. Everything was falling apart rapidly as Shredder plowed through the turtles from both worlds with ease.

"Did you actually think you could come here and take me on? I trained you! Taught you everything you know!" Leo just glared at him from the floor before he struggled back to his feet. Donnie had already hit another wall hard enough to knock him out. Mikey was down too.

"And you," He let his fury loose on Leonardo as he somehow held the strikes back, "I've spent years studying you and your brothers. You are just about as incompetent as he is..." Leo watched in horror as he easily disarmed Leonardo, his katanas flying out to the sides, before bringing his blades past Leonardo's attempt to dodge them, and into his side. Leonardo's cry of pain echoed through the room, stunning it into silence before Shredder threw him to the floor.

 _"NO!"_ Vicky's scream filled the room next as Leo growled, forcing himself to his feet.

Shredder's arm was coming down again for the prone turtle in front of him. Michelangelo wasn't going to let that strike hit. He came in from the side and deflected that blow. "You sadistic bastard!" Raph snarled at the large human as he joined Michelangelo. Both of them trying to keep the man in front of them from the injured turtle.

Shredder just laughed at him and kicked him away. "Pathetic. Is this the best you have to offer? Did you learn nothing?" Raph came in again and Shredder easily moved out of the way of his opponent's strike before he pinned Raph in the shoulder, then twisted the blade. Not even he could hold up to that kind of pain as he fell to his knees. "That's right my former student, kneel before your true Master!" Then he ripped the blade out before he kicked the turtle in the face.

"He's tearing them apart!" Cris cried as they still tried to break through. "We need to get to them, _now!_ " Leo was already on his feet and moving in, but he wasn't quick enough. Michelangelo was the next one knocked away as he tried to distract the evil man who was about to bring those blades in again. That blade came out of Raph's shoulder and slashed across Michelangelo's arm before he followed that up with a kick. Michelangelo landed hard on the ground, on the arm that had just been sliced open and his blood trailed him as he slid across the smooth floor. Raphael came in then and Shredder lifted himself in the air and quickly brought his foot around, nailing him in the head. When Raphael hit the floor, he didn't get back up.

"Weak! All of you are weak!" Shredder laughed before his eyes found Leonardo again, who was looking back up at him, in pain, but refused to let the fear show. "You were fools to come here." He kicked Leonardo in the injured side, causing another groan of pain to come from him.

The answer to that was quick as Vicky threw one of Shredder's own men at him in her anger and frustration. He dodged the ninja and turned towards her. "Woman, what makes you think you stand a chance when they don't. You are not even worth my time."

Hun had already moved in to block her oncoming rush. "But I'll have some fun with ya though. Now watch as the Master kills your boyfriend. Been looking forward to this."

But her distraction had given Leo the time he needed. Even as Shredder tried again to finish off the prone turtle, Leo was already there. His katanas came in under that swinging arm, trembling under the strain. Without missing a beat, Shredder caught hold of one of those arms with his free hand and brought a foot up and kicked at it, the snap of that arm breaking was very loud in that room and pain washed over him as he clearly felt the arm break. He refused to cry out in pain, refused to give his former master that satisfaction as he laid on the ground next to his counterpart.

The door opened then and even more ninjas came in, these all wore red. Leo began cursing under his breath. His elite guard... Shredder paused a moment as he looked at his red covered back up. "Not even the other ones were able to survive this night." He boasted as his reinforcements came closer to where the humans fought. "I grow tired of this." He then told them all, his blades now hanging dangerously over the turtles laying in front of him. "Surrender now, and I will make their ends swift."

Vicky was furious as she glared back at him. Pain, fear and anger in her eyes at what this man had done, and what he would do. Her answer was a snarl that twisted across her features.

"Very well, a painful death it is then." He brought his blade over Leonardo's throat, and began to slowly push.

And just as quickly stopped as a sai suddenly sprouted out of his shoulder with a wet thud. Shedder stumbled a few steps backwards from the force of that hit. His eyes looked frantically around the room to find where it came from...until he looked up and his eyes widened. Leo followed his gaze and his own jaw dropped in surprise. They weren't supposed to be here...

There, on a ledge that supported the rafters to this room, with his arms crossed, stood Ty. Thane was looking down at what was going on below. Ari was sitting on the ledge, dangling her leg back and forth as Lavi and Dante held the tied up figure of Spencer, then threw him off and he landed into a pile of ninjas that were under them, knocking a few of them out. "Oops." Lavi said after he fell. All of them had anger in their eyes as they stared Shredder down.

"A bit melodramatic, isn't he?" Ari said as her leg kept dangling.

"Might be all the metal on his head." Dante told her. "Interferes with his thinking abilities I believe."

"You live?" Shredder wasn't the only one surprised. Leo was just as surprised as his jaw hung open.

"Yup." Thane flippantly told him. "We sure do."

A violent shudder rocked the room then. "Oh, and by the way, we took out your portal." Dante calmly told him before another one hit, this one seeming from farther away. "And your docks. Might want to reconsider putting so many control panels to important things in your hideout in one room. If you hadn't noticed by now, my family likes to blow stuff up."

"You will suffer for that." Shredder told him.

"Get away from them." Was Ty's answer in a deathly quiet voice that rang clear in the large room. He effortlessly flipped down from the ledge. "Now." He said as he hit the floor lightly, with the rest of them landing around him. Then they all stalked in on the Ninja master.

"Get them." Hun growled at his ninjas, but had to stop and looked stupefied as the red ninjas began to attack _his_ men. Leo was just as confused himself as he fought through the pain that was radiating from his arm. What in the...

"Hey, big bozo!" Ari grinned at him. "Those aren't your men. So easy to sneak ninjas around in here with full body outfits, especially when you take them from other ninjas." Again Leo's eyes widened as he understood what she was saying... If they get out of this alive he was going to tear into Holly and James! Did _anyone_ fucking listen to orders around here?

And of course with the backup now changing sides, the fight quickly heated back up in the large room even as the teens walked over towards where he and Leonardo were laying on the floor.

"Titian...no..." Leonardo gasped to his son as the teen stopped a moment to check on his father. "He's too...strong..."

"Physical strength isn't everything Father." Ty stood up and glared again at the man who hurt his father. "And it's time someone learned that." Lavi stood firm next to her brother, her own eyes blazing along with his with that same fire Leo had seen in Leonardo's eyes so many times. Lavi took the time to put her tonfas away, then retrieved her father's katanas. Leo just calmly watched as the teens fearlessly placed themselves between the injured turtles and the man who caused pain to so many.

"You remember your lessons?" Ty calmly asked his sister. " _All_ of your lessons?"

"Of course." She replied, katanas twirling effortlessly in her hands. Then the cousins shared a knowing grin with the twins and turned their full attention to their target.

"Come then you foolish children, if you dare." Shredder ripped the sai out of his shoulder and spun it in his own hand.

And they did. Without even batting an eye at the man who so far had ran a rampage through the elder turtles, they took him on. "Missed me!" Ari chirped as she ducked under his arm. "Now ya gotta kiss me!"

"Eew." Lavi told her as she leaned to the side, deflecting the other arm away from her. "He'd probably taste like a rust bucket."

"Nah, more like a sardine can full of rotten sardines." Dante added as he took a half hearted swipe at the leg that came up.

"Just out of curiosity, how does he take a piss in that get up." Thane asked then as Ari rolled around him and he blocked the swing aimed for her. "I mean, he'd have to come close to chopping his dick off with that ridiculous looking clown suit."

"What makes you think he even has one?" Ty grinned at him. "Or even if he does, maybe it's to small to get into the way."

"Oh? I know! That's why he's so intent on taking over the world!" Ari spun her three sectioned staff around the injured arm and pulled back as Dante hit that same shoulder with a kick. "Major tiny dick compensation going on here."

"I will silence you all!" Shredder growled as he came in again.

"Please," Dante snorted as he sidestepped the charge "you couldn't silence a mute."

"Lame Dante." Thane grinned at him as he actually managed to trip shredder up, then took his sai back as the man stumbled past him. "That the best you got?" Thane then addressed Shredder. "You move like a turtle on his back with all that crap on."

"Hey now," Ty said as he brought a katana in, and almost got through to his side before it was blocked "don't be insulting turtles like that. I for one, wouldn't be caught dead in his get up. I'd be embarrassed that the ground would spit me back out."

"Hell, I don't think the ground would even let you dig a hole for that contraption in the first place." Lavi told him. "It'd keep dropping the dirt back in."

Shredder let out another anger filled growl as he lashed out again, this time at Dante who easily flipped over that swinging arm. "Too slow." Dante taunted him as he landed, then ducked as Thane came over him with a hook sword, a sword that actually bit into the arm as Shredder tried again.

Leo stared in stupefied wonder at the scene unfolding in front of him. His brown eyes wide as he struggled to understand how this was happening. They were almost effortlessly holding their own and he couldn't understand how they were doing it...

Vicky had by now made it to her mate's side, her eyes worried as she took in the large rip in his side. Even as Leonardo tried to get up to help the children, even as Leo now tried to do. Both of them not wanting them to do this. Both of them unable to get up to even try. Leonardo stopped by his pain and Leo stopped by Vicky's other daughter as Amy made it to his side.

"They..shouldn't...be...doing..." Leonardo gasped out. "He will..." His eyes closed as his head fell back, breathing heavy in his pain.

Dennis was by his adoptive father's side then, and he quickly pulled off his sweater and plugged the hole as best he could with it. "Don't worry about them Leo." Dennis told him. "They are doing just fine."

Leo tried to get up again and a gain was stopped. "Stay put!" Amy snapped at the stubborn turtle. "Lavi! I'f you're not too busy with bucket head over there, can I borrow your tonfas?"

"Sure thing sis." She replied. "Not like this pile of lame nuts is actually giving me a workout." Then, as if to prove her point, she leaned back out of the way of a swing even as she flipped the katanas in the air, tossed her weapons to Amy, then caught them again before rushing back into the fight.

Amy caught them then placed them on top of the turtle she was working on. "I'm going to splint this arm and if you don't stay still I'll knock your ass out."

Remembering the printer incident...he really didn't doubt that... He just nodded as he watched the fight taking place, his voice with the awe he was feeling. The teens still hadn't faltered as they scurried around the man who had tormented him his whole life. "How are they doing this? How are they holding him back?"

"I don't know." Vicky answered him as she also watched.

"Hey Ty! You think he ever uses those things to cook shish kabobs on the grill?" Ari asked as she knocked a hit to the side.

"Probably, it's the only thing those things are good for."

"I wonder how many times he's stabbed himself in the foot trying to tie his shoe?" Lavi asked.

"You're assuming that he knows _how_ to tie his shoe." Thane grinned.

"It's really not that hard to figure out." Amy smiled at their stunned looks. "They have been trained very well, by _all_ of the turtles, even Mikey."

Vicky's eyes grew wide with understanding, but Leo understood nothing as he looked at the young woman who was now about to set his arm. "I...don't understand..."

"Brace yourself." Amy replied. He did but the pain still almost made him blackout as she set it. Then she answered his befuddlement. "I've noticed your Mikey is a very quiet individual." She started and he nodded. "Ours isn't. He has spent a lifetime perfecting his taunts, pranks and teasing. And we have lived with him, we know him just as well as we know the others. You've seen how our Raph reacts to him right?"

"Yes..." He managed to get out even as pain shot through his arm again as she began to wrap the weapons around his arm.

"Now imagine five Mikey's going after a man with a bigger temper than Raph's." She smiled at him. "What do you think is going to happen there?"

"Hey! Tinman called! He wants his pieces back!"

The next sound was Shredder's rage filled roar as Leo met her eyes in understanding. "I never...had thought of that..."

"That's because you don't live with Mikey." She winked at him. "He's taught them everything they need to know to bring someone down with a large ego...even if he doesn't realize it."

Leo let his eyes wander back to the teenagers who had this very well under control.

"Uh oh. Someone is throwing a hissy fit." Lavi grinned.

"Time to get the diaper baby a new diaper." Ari brought her staff around, entangling it in his legs, and pulled hard, throwing him off balance. "Wittle baby wanna bottle after that? Then a nice burpy before nappy time?" Ty came in and knocked him off of his unbalanced feet with a quick kick.

"I'll help with the nappy time." Ty grinned.

"You shall all perish here!" Shredder roared as he got back to his feet.

"Oh please," Thane rolled his eyes as he leaned on the hilt of his hook sword "spare me the empty threats."

"I'll show you empty threats!" He charged in again and Thane just stepped out of his way, but leaving his foot firmly in place...and ended up tripping Shredder and he fell face first onto the floor. The sounds of laughter filled the room. Even Amy laughed at that one and Leo actually grinned.

"Very well done Young Master!" James shouted and Thane bowed with a grin.

Hun didn't really know what to think as he stared stupefied at what was happening in front of him. His master getting his ass handed to him by a bunch of teenagers.

Shredder came back up in a roar before he just charged blindly towards the group in front of him, his anger now taking full control of him. The amused smiles and joking eyes that he ran towards suddenly turned deadly serious. "Get ready." Ty told his team and their postures all changed from laid back, to serious.

Shredder ran towards them and when he got close, they exploded into motion. Ari and Dante each took a hold of one end of her three sectioned staff and ducked under his wild swings even as Thane launched himself up into the air over him. His momentum tripped him up on the staff and Thane came down behind him, placing a well aimed kick onto his back which caused Shredder to stumble forward, right onto the waiting katanas of the two teens still standing their ground in front of him. Ty and Lavi held those blades firm as the man impaled himself on them to the hilt. Both twins now letting their own rage and anger show that had been hidden by the amused mask before. "And _that_ is for our Father." Ty snarled at him.

"And any others you have hurt." Lavi added in a grim tone.

There was a stunned silence in the room as he collapsed to his knees, the light faded from his eyes. His hand that had tried to come up for one last strike, fell limp to his side as his body breathed it's last breath. The teens placed their feet on the body that was only being held up by their blades, and coolly pushed him off.

Leo's jaw dropped at that, the sheer speed that it had happened. In the blink of an eye they had eliminated a man that had terrorized countless souls, his being one of them, and now he was...gone... He was gone... Leo swallowed hard as that thought hit him.

Thane looked around the room, his eyes dangerous as he took in the goons still there. "Who's next?" He asked in a quiet, menacing tone.

It seemed like no one wanted to be as the room quickly emptied.

"I'll get you for this!" Hun roared and the teens just stared at him, Thane flipping a sai as he again casually leaned on the hilt of his hook sword.

"Wanna try now?" Thane caught the sai by the tip as it came down, and threw it at Hun's head, taking out a clump of hair as it whizzed by his scalp.

Hun's face paled before he too turned and ran.

"Set up a perimeter." Ty told one of the ninjas. "Let's make sure they are all actually gone before we try and move them out of here."

"Yes, Young Master." The ninja replied and took some ninjas out the door.

Lavi had by now made it back to her father's side and knelt down next to Leonardo as Ari went to Michelangelo and Cris and Thane went to go help Raphael up who was groggily starting to come around. Holly of course went to Raph as well as Marina and they began to tend to his shoulder and James went to go help Mikey who was also starting to weakly move. Amy finished the last touches of Leo's bandage before she ran across the room to check on Donnie.

"Father..." Lavi's eyes were full of tears as she looked at his blood covered side.

He opened his eyes that he had closed and smiled up at her, then at Ty who had walked over to join us. "Well...done you..two..." He stopped a moment to catch his breath. "I'm proud...to be...your father..." He finished in a whisper before his eyes closed and he grew silent again.

"Daddy..." Lavi asked in a scared voice as she shook him and he wouldn't respond. Leo's heart grew cold as he watched that, even as Vicky's took on the same fear filled expression. Then her eyes saw the faint pulse in his throat and she relaxed, a little.

Raphael by then had made his way towards them as Leo got to his own feet. "Shit!" He snapped then carefully lifted Leonardo up. He completely ignored his own busted up face as he gingerly held his brother to him. "We need to go."

"The way is clear, Young Master." The ninja informed Ty when he came back.

"Then let's go home." Ty replied as he helped to support Raph. "There is no more reason to stay."

They all began to quietly file out even as Dante and Dennis tinkered around with the main core. Obviously still intent to finish the reason they had come here for.

Leo found himself staring at the body of his former Master. Still not quite believing what had just happened. He wasn't the only one.

"He's gone..." Mikey said in a pain filled, but tired voice as he came to stand next to Leo. "Now Father can rest in peace..."

Leo just nodded as he looked at his youngest brother, then placed his good arm around his shoulder. Then, together, they turned their backs on the man who had taken their Father, their home, and for a while, their hope. They may have lost the first two, but the third had held on long enough to see this day. Two sets of eyes were moist when they walked out of that room.


	56. Chapter 56

The sheer amount of injured required them to snatch quite a few vehicles to get everyone safely back to the lair. Leo and Raph found themselves in the same vehicle with a pair of disobedient followers.

"What in the hell were you thinking!" Raph snapped once James got the van they were in moving.

"What?" Holly asked him innocently.

"You know very well what!" Leo snapped at her.

She just crossed her arms and glared back at them. "You told us to stay with the teens right?"

"Yes..." Leo admitted.

"Well...they decided they didn't like the blow up the portal and retreat order. They wanted to help you." She shrugged. "And in order to follow our own orders we had to follow them..."

"You know why I wanted you to with drawl!" Leo flared. "You should have backed off anyway!"

"You wanted us to take care of Lotus." James firmly said from the driver's seat. "That's not our job Leo, it's yours. The best way we could have helped her, was to bring you back to her."

Leo's jaw snapped shut at that as he suddenly found tears forming in his eyes. He turned his head away from them.

"I guess you really can't argue with that." Raph sighed as he leaned against the side of the van. Then he winced when he bumped his shoulder.

The vans were all parked far enough away to not draw attention to the lair, but close enough to where all the injured could be transported quickly.

Once again Raphael took up the burden of carrying his brother as Vicky ran ahead to open the door for the line of injured that was quickly growing. Ty was also taking up his prior burden as he supported an unsteady Raph. Leo held back as the more serious wounded were slowly herded inside, making sure everyone was able to make it into the safety of the underground dwelling.

By the time he got back himself there were bodies all over the place and Caitlin was already at work. Dante, Ari and Vicky also had joined to help her large task as Cris and Marina scrambled to get everyone settled and tried to organize places to rest for all of them.

But he was surprised by the sound of running footsteps, and a sharp warning from Caitlin that went ignored. Then suddenly she was there. Now up and dressed, she flung herself against him hard enough to knock him a step back. His good arm wrapped around her as tears filled his eyes. He had come so close to not seeing her again...

Lotus was also crying as she held him tight against her and he buried his face in her hair. His own pain was now forgotten as he just held her. It took a long time for her to calm down and she finally lifted her head from his chest with a sniffle. "I had so feared you would not return." She quietly told him. "For a time, I could feel something was not right..."

"For a bit there, it wasn't." He admitted to her as he looked into her eyes. "But it is now. Because I get to hold you." Her eyes teared up again and he pulled her close against him. "And I have no intention of leaving you like that again any time soon."

"Alright Romeo." Caitlin snapped at him. "Get over here and sit down so I can deal with that arm before you ruin it."

"Yes ma'am..." He mumbled as he walked over. She promptly sat him down on the floor, the only place where she had room left to work, and began to unwrap the bandage Amy had put on earlier.

Michelangelo chuckled from nearby. "You're learning." He said and winked.

"Is she always like this?" Leo asked him. "One moment she is calm and quiet, the next she is standing over you with a club..."

"Only when she has to be." Marina told him with a smile as she walked by with some blankets. "It takes a bit to get through to stubborn turtles sometimes."

Lotus ignored the snappy Caitlin and sat next to him and burrowed her way back under his good arm. "And you! If I catch you running around like that again I'll tie you to the damn bed!" Caitlin snapped at her next. "You aren't ready for that yet!"

"Yes madam." She answered a bit sheepishly. Leo had to bite back his laughter on that one. Not very often someone got Lotus embarrassed. Didn't stop her from leaning against Leo's good side though, or him wrapping his good arm around her.

"That's all of them Mom." Ari told her mother as the tired teen walked up with a just as tired looking Dante. "He's the last one."

Caitlin nodded as she worked, but Leo spotted something else. "Not quite..." He nodded his head towards Vicky who had collapsed in sheer exhaustion against the wall by the lab, then slid to the floor. Exhaustion and worry. "Any word?"

"No." Caitlin replied quietly as she gave her friend a quick, worried, glance. "Both Donnies have been locked in there with him since you got back. "I'm hoping the silence is good news..."

By the time she finished casting his arm, Ty and Lavi came out of the lab. They had taken various ninjas over there once Caitlin had finished with them and quietly set them up in beds and couches in Vicky's house if they were on bed rest. Just as Thane and Dante had set more up in the beds and couches here.

They both paused as they saw their now sleeping mother as she rested against the wall. "You get her." Lavi told her brother quietly. "I'll go make room for her with Father."

That got Leo's attention as he stood up and walked over. "How...is he?"

"They just got done with him." Was the weary reply from the girl even as her brother moved closer to Vicky. "He should make it, but the best medicine for both of them is each other. That we have caught onto over the years."

Relief flooded over him as he nodded then stepped out of the way. Lavi walked quietly back in and Ty now carried his mother in behind her. "May I see him?"

"He's not awake." Ty answered quietly. "But you can if you want."

Leo carefully followed them in and waited while they tended to their mother. Ty walked her around the bed to the extension on the farthest side. Lavi pulled the blankets back and he gently laid her down next to the now sleeping Leonardo. She looked around a moment, sleepy and confused.

"Go back to sleep, Mom." Ty told her softly as Lavi covered her with a blanket. "Father will be waiting for you when you wake up." She didn't even move as her eyes slid back shut. Then the teens hunkered down for their own wait.

Once they had cared for their parents, Leo moved in closer. His eyes taking in the bandages that now wrapped around the turtle in front of him. So much like he himself had been injured shortly after meeting this bunch. It was even the same side...which unsettled him more than a little.

"It was close." Donnie told him quietly as he walked up, Donatello crutching not far behind. "Very close. If they hadn't intervened when they did...he wouldn't have made it."

"It seems that maybe we tried to protect the wrong group." Leo said as his eyes found the teens who were leaning on the wall nearby, quietly talking to themselves.

"Maybe." Donnie said thoughtfully as he also looked at them.

"Makes me feel old to be honest." Donatello mumbled. "You guys come back looking like he just ran you through a meat processor...and they come home without a scratch..." He sighed as he crutched away again.

Leo still stood there even as his own brother also retreated, looking at the still forms sleeping on the bed in front of him. Then he quietly reached out a hand and rested it on the shoulder of his counterpart. "Rest and heal my friend. Now maybe we both can." He stood there a while longer, then quietly left the room.

And that's what they all did, they rested and they healed. Didn't mean it went quietly though.

"Will you stop that!" Thane snapped at his father as he was trying to rewrap the severely bruised and cut face, a face that had severely swollen up. Leo was looking on amused from the doorway of the kitchen. Was the only safe spot right now. The teens were bubbling teapots at the moment.

"Iwl shtop dat ben woo stop bein' swo rup." Came the slurred words.

"Good god." Thane muttered as he carefully replaced the wrappings. "You are such a baby."

"Iwl swow woo aby!" Raphael growled back. "Woo bait till Ah fweel bebber! Knop woo inbo mext weep!"

Vicky and Cris were trying not to laugh. Leo wasn't as successful as he watched this play out and his mild chuckles drifted across the open air, lucky for him they were ignored or not even heard.

"I am _not_ going to spoon feed you." Ari firmly told her own father nearby as she placed a tray in his lap.

"But my arm hurts." Michelangelo moaned.

"Then use the other one. It's not broken."

"But I make a mess when I eat with my left hand!"

"You make a mess when you eat with the right one so I guess it doesn't matter."

"Wiw woo boo shup da blup up!" Raphael muttered. "Ah bop ah fledape."

"Well, that's what you get for trying to stop Shredder's foot with your face." Michelangelo grinned at him.

Apparently Raphael felt well enough to throw a couch pillow at his brother, knocking the tray that was on Michelangelo's thighs over, spilling soup everywhere and he began hopping around as the hot soup spilled down his thighs. Ari just glared at her uncle. "Really? You really had to do that?"

"Swobby."

"Sorry my backside." She mumbled in reply as she began to gather up the tipped over dishes.

Then his attention was drawn to the doorway to the lab and the ruckus Donatello was causing because someone was standing there who really shouldn't be. Lavi also noticed it and came stomping over. "Why are you up?" She flatly asked her father who was wobbling in the doorway.

"Because there is too much to do!" He snapped back at her. "I've got all these ninjas to find a place for so they can re-"

"It's been done." She told him. "Ty is over at the barn now talking to Gramps. They are going to throw some makeshift beds together."

He blinked. "Then I have to figure out how to feed all of them if they are going to be staying awh-"

"Casey and Marina are already at the store."

"Not to mention I need to gather supplies because we are going through bandages like-"

"Dante and April just brought in medical supplies a half hour ago and Donatello already helped them unload it all."

Leonardo just looked at her as Lavi raised her eyeridge at him. "Well crap..." He muttered. "I guess I really don't have anything to do."

"I _told_ you it's all been taken care of." Donatello grumped at him. "But did you want to listen? Nooooo..."

Leonardo sighed. "Well, can I at least sit in the chair out here?" He asked meekly.

Donatello just rolled his eyes and crutched back into the lab. Leonardo took another wobbly step into the living area and Lavi quickly went to him, carefully supporting his good side. "And you fuss at Mother for not wanting to stay in bed." She muttered to him as she carefully guided him to the recliner, then helped him lower himself in it.

He winced a little as he moved wrong as he shifted in it to get comfortable. "Just feel like I shouldn't be lying in there when there is so much going on out here."

Before Lavi could even respond to that, Ty came out of the lab, then caught sight of Leonardo in the recliner. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh for the love of god..." Leonardo groaned and the whole you should be in bed argument started again.

Apparently Leonardo was getting tired of his children trying to restrict his movements because he finally lost his composure to snap out, "I'm the leader of this family and I'll sit out here if I _want_ too!"

Leo quickly ducked back into the kitchen, because he couldn't hide his laughter anymore.

Lotus was another one who didn't, or couldn't, settle down. Now that she was mobile she jumped right back into the care of tending to her ninjas, no matter how much Leo fussed over it. But she was healing rapidly. He watched in astonished wonder as her wound healed at a much quicker rate. That didn't mean it didn't strain her though.

He was pretty much forced to watch as the recuperating Lotus wore herself down, just out of pure stubbornness to quit. The only thing he could think of because she was full of guilt for not being there when so many of them were injured. No matter how many times James and Holly told her they could handle this, she refused to let them.

Her features grew worn from exhaustion, bags started to form under her eyes and it was to the point she had trouble keeping anything to eat down. And Leo didn't know how to get her to stop. She had healed from her injury, but was driving herself in the ground.

It was inevitable. They had been there about three weeks now as the healing continued, and Lotus had finally pushed herself too far. She stepped tiredly out of the lab after making sure she had the last few remaining ninjas who were still on bed rest had what they needed for the night, stumbled slightly and fell to the floor.

Even as Leo let out a startled exclamation as he ran to her, Dante was already moving. The yellow masked teen dove towards her, sliding on his back across the floor and caught her as she fell limply over him.

"Nice save, son." Donatello told his son as he made his way over. Lavi was already there, leaning over to lift Lotus off of her cousin so he could get up.

"Is she alright?" Leo asked worriedly as he tried to hold himself back so the other turtle could care for the now limp woman.

"I'm sure she is fine." Came the answer even as Donatello began to run a scan to make sure of that. "Just probably over worked herself is...oh my..." He looked dumbfounded at his scanner.

"What? What is wrong?"

"Is she ok?" Leonardo asked also as he moved closer.

"Um...well...depends on what you qualify as...ok..." He grinned suddenly at what he was looking at before he looked up at the anxious Leo. "You two sure didn't waste any time did you? At least Vicky and Leo were together a few months before she dropped fatherhood on him."

She...dropped...what? Did he just... Lotus...was... He couldn't have heard that right... Leo's jaw dropped as he stared at a still grinning Donatello. He didn't even try to hide the tears that suddenly formed in his eyes as he took Lotus from Lavi with trembling arms. His cast didn't bother him in the slightest as he held her close to him. Wonder was just one of the emotions that filled him as he looked down at her. "A...child..." He didn't know what to do with his tumbling feelings, and decided to just do nothing as he processed that thought.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see the gentle smile his counterpart gave him. "Now you have what I have, and you more than deserve it." Came his quiet voice and Leo's jaw began to tremble.

The others moved away from him then, to give him the space to process this thought as he followed Donatello in to the lab. She was gently laid down on the bed and he just sat quietly on it next to her, holding her hand, as the other turtle kept a watchful eye on her.

It didn't take long for her to stir again and her eyes slowly blinked open, and looked shocked when she found a quietly crying Leo next to her. "What has happened?" She asked confused as she sat up, holding a hand to her head.

Leo opened his mouth to answer her but couldn't quite get the words out. Donatello chuckled in gentle amusement as he took in her confusion and his overwhelmance to what Leo just found out. "It seems, my dear, that you are now restricted from any heavy duties for awhile."

"Why?" She asked, still confused. "I have healed enough to be able to do them. You have confirmed the fact yourself."

Leo was still trying to get his mouth to work.

Donatello chuckled again. "Things have changed slightly Lotus. It isn't you I'm worried about if you keep this up."

Now she was growing exasperated. It didn't click on what he was trying to tell her, and the look she gave Leo told him that his reaction wasn't helping either.

"You are pregnant..." Leo finally forced out of his throat.

Her reaction was just as a jumbled mess as his was as she looked at Donatello with wide eyes. He just nodded with a just as wide grin.

Suddenly Leo wasn't the only one crying as she clung to him.

"I'll leave you two alone." Donatello said as he began to move out the door. "I think I better go find your brother and pass on everything he needs to know on how to handle this."

They didn't even hear him as they held each other close. Both to overwhelmed to speak, but happy nonetheless.


	57. Chapter 57

It was with a large amount of regret when Leo heard the news that everyone was finally cleared to go. He found that he really didn't want to leave this family who had helped him with so much. They had started off hating each other, now the thought of leaving actually filled him with sadness.

He wasn't the only one who had formed bonds here he noticed.

"Move shorty, before I step on you!" Thane grumbled at Holly one morning a few days before.

Her eyes had flared up as he said that, like they usually did when he called her shorty, smurf, tiny, peewee and a few other vertically challenged names. He just gave her a grin as he walked by. Leo groaned as she watched him leave, eyes narrowed dangerously. Then flipped over to Michelangelo who was laughing hysterically over it and narrowed some more. He knew that look.

That had been going on the whole time actually, and everytime she tried to retaliate for it, she ended up flying across the living area. She just could not get the drop on them and it was seriously pissing her off. Ari had been watching thoughtfully nearby and then pulled the redhaired woman aside and disappeared with her...for a long while. Leo had a feeling that whatever they were conniving wasn't going to end well for those two turtles.

Another pair that seemed to get along well were Dennis and James. Countless times Leo caught them deep in discussion, often with both Donatellos as they sat and talked over sketches and what not. Leo had a feeling that when they did finally get home, there was going to be some major upgrades going to happen.

Lotus spent her time with the women, who were all trying to give the still shocked woman advice on how to deal with her first and very unusual pregnancy. All shared their experiences and all gave her advice on how to adjust to the rapid growth of the tiny life form inside of her. Lotus looked like her head was wanting to explode from all the information she took in, but the happiness in her eyes never faded.

Leo himself felt himself watching Ty and Lavi a lot. The other children too, but these two were the closest thing that came to his own children. With a whole new perspective he watched them interact with each other and their parents. He saw again how much this family loved each other. And he still couldn't believe he was on the way to the same thing...

The Raph twins endured their recuperation period with the meddling interference of the ones who loved them. "Will you quit!" Raph snapped at Holly who was trying to help him up one day. "I got an injured shoulder, not an injured ass!"

"You try and lean on that arm again and that shoulder gives out you will have an injured ass." She calmly replied.

Raphael snorted with laughter at that, which of course aggravated his facial injuries. "Ow...dat hurt..." He mumbled.

"That's what you get for laughing at everyone else, you dipshit." Cris calmly told him even as she proceeded to make sure he didn't rip his face back open.

"Oh stop, I'm fine." He pushed her hand away.

Her eyebrow raised at that, then she looked at Holly. "I hope you are ready for this, because it doesn't get better with time. Anything with the name Raphael is about as stubborn as a damn rock."

This time it was Holly who snorted with laughter as the two Raphs glared at Cris.

"I'm sure she is very well aware of that by now Cris." Vicky grinned as she came closer. "And I'm just as sure she's been taking notes on how to deal with it." That time she got glared at. She just crossed her eyes at them and stuck her tongue out which sent Holly into another laughing fit.

Now...it was time to go. Even now the ninjas had for the most part already crossed over into the portal. They were still crossing over when the Mikeys came out of the kitchen, laughing over something. That bond also grew over the days. Leo's once quiet, almost shy brother had opened up and was back to the same personality he was as a child. Smiles were quick to come to his face now.

They came to a stop near Thane when Holly finally made her appearance. She took her time making her rounds, giving each individual a hug and fond parting words. Until she got to those two. She looked at them for a moment, with a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she reached in and gave both Thane and Michelangelo a hug at the same time. "I'm going to miss you two." She said, then a wide grin spread across her face. "But I'm not going to miss the teasing." Then quicker than they could react since she was so close to them, she smashed two water balloons in their faces. Both were filled with whip cream and both bursted on impact as the two turtles found themselves suddenly with white faces. Even as Ari bust out laughing, Holly rapidly retreated out of their reach and into the portal before they could even get the stuff out of their eyes.

Leo just shook his head as he and his brothers finally gathered around the portal. He looked out a final time over this family. A family who he had been sent to kill, and now owed them so much. He actually felt bad about leaving them with Hun floating around here, but his offers to help deal with him had been politely refused.

"You sure Hun won't cause you any concern?" He asked one last time, already knowing the answer.

"He hasn't beat us yet in sixteen years," Raphael smiled "doubt he will now. We can handle him."

"You've done more than enough." Leonardo added. "Besides, you have something more important to worry about now." He smiled at Lotus who was once again wrapped in Leo's arm.

"That, I do." Leo sighed as he looked around at them all. "The last time I left here, I told you I would always hate you, because I could never live the life you do. I wish I could take those words back, because I now know how wrong they were."

"You just needed time to find it for yourself my friend." Leonardo told him. "I didn't hold it against you then, and I don't hold it against you now."

"Thank you, my friend, and goodbye."

"My pleasure. Farewell, my friend."

Without another word they stepped through the portal and left their counterparts behind. Leo was home. A home that had endless possibilities now without the man that had run rampant over everyone he came across. A world that held hope again for him.

He sighed as he stepped out of Donnie's lab into his quiet home. It seemed quiet now anyway compared to what he had been living in the last few weeks. The ninjas had already moved on to the barracks and his brothers had already scattered to check on things. Leo just felt...weird as he stood there, his arm still wrapped around Lotus. He wasn't used to this.

"What troubles you, my love?" Lotus asked him.

"Nothing really... Just getting used to things again I guess."

"I see. It seems you need something to occupy your mind." Why did Leo have the feeling that that was going to require work? "Would you please assist me in moving my things into your room?" He knew it...

"Trying to lay claim to my domain already?" He smiled at her.

"It would be logical to do so. We will require the extra room for the child and-"

Leo cut her off with a kiss. "I was joking, little flower." He told her with another smile. "Of course I'll help you."

So they spent the next hour or so moving her things into his room. Lotus fussed quite a bit over it all, trying to make sure they both had equal space for their things as he watched amused. It was when she was mumbling about the bed not looking right, because they had pushed hers next to his and both had different colored sheets, that he finally laughed and turned her around to face him. "It's fine for now Lotus." He said as he held her close. "We'll get a bigger bed and whatever sheets you want to put on them later. I'm just happy you're here with me."

That did seem to quell her irritation, or it was the feeling that suddenly took over once they both realized this was the first time they had been alone since...well...the first time. The only time. The time they had made a child... Leo picked her up and sat her on the dresser before his head moved in to kiss her. A kiss she returned with the same urgency he now felt. His hand rested on her cheek as his tongue pushed in, tasting her, feeling her, and she leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

That was about as far as they got though.

The door crashed open and they both turned to glare at Mikey who now stood in the door frame. "Hey! Room looks good! Think you need a bigger bed though. Looks kinda tacky like that."

"Get out Mikey." Leo growled at his little brother, who didn't seem to hear it.

"If you want we can go out tonight and get another one," The now orange masked turtle prattled on "plus we need to go looking for some baby stuff anyway-" He stopped and stared at the kunai that had passed inches by his head and embedded itself in the wood of the door frame, still shaking a bit from the force of the throw.

"Get. _Out_." Leo growled again.

"Or we could wait till later." Mikey conceded and quietly closed the door back. "Guys!" They then heard on the other side of the door. "Don't go in there! Leo and Lotus are trying to make number two while number one is still growing!"

Leo dropped his head onto her shoulder and groaned. "Why me..." His only answer was her soft laughter.

.

.

Things had definitely changed. Not just in Leo's life, but in everyone's here. Daniel was of course thrilled to finally have them back, and the normally unshakable little boy actually cried when he was told Shredder wasn't coming back. That news took longer to be accepted by the general population. It seemed they all held their breath, waiting for the monster to resurface. But he never did. Once the fact finally was accepted that the warlord wasn't coming back the streets were crowded with crowds who were out celebrating.

Leo still led his brothers out, still freed the prison camps they could find. Still repaired the damage they could. Still fought the troops who still held onto the belief that their dark master may come back. But also still remained firmly hidden in their home. There had been reports filtering to him that some had suggested that he and his brothers take up the burden of leading the mass of confused people.

"No." Leo firmly told James when it was brought up again.

"Why not?"

"Because there are still those out there who fear us." Leo answered. "Those who would think that we would be the same kind of leader he was. They have suffered long enough with that fear. Let them decide now what kind of leadership they want, and the right ones to do it. We will stay here, secure in our home."

"You do know that someone may try and rise up to do the same exact thing...right?"

"And this time they won't have us fighting for them to accomplish it." Leo told him. "Don't mistake our lack of wanting to lead for lack of concern for the wrong one wanting to lead. I will not let another do what has already been done."

"Fair enough." James said and then turned to give the pressing group the turtle's answer.

The population struggled at first, but in a few weeks the basic structures of a government were already starting to form. It was slow, but change was happening. The turtles watched through this transition, using their own little army to quell any who sought to use this time to prey on the weak and hard hit. If there was looting, it was stopped. If there were gangs trying to harm innocents who were struggling with what little they had to live off of. They were firmly encouraged to knock it off, with plenty of them missing teeth after the encouragement. Warehouses belonging to Shredder at one time were suddenly emptied overnight and the spoils of that were passed to the hardest hit citizens to help get them through this tough time. Even now the turtles watched over the town, trying to help those who needed it most as order was slowly restored.

Even as busy as he was, Leo still had time to wonder over the progression of his mate's pregnancy. He still couldn't really believe this was happening. Probably wouldn't believe it until the tiny being was in his arms.

It was on a rare night when he was at home, sleeping with her cradled against him, when her sharp hiss of pain woke him up. He felt her body tense against him as she struggled through the spasm. "Lotus?" He raised his head and looked at her.

"I..." Her face contorted with pain as she struggled to talk. "I am...not sure... But I think it may...be time..."

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?" He quickly got up and walked around to her side of the larger bed they had acquired.

"I...did...did not wish..." Her eyes closed as she fought through this one. "Did not wish to concern you if it was premature..."

"Oh Lotus..." He chuckled as he effortlessly lifted her up. "Still you worry about me."

"And I shall...continue to...do so..."

Well, wasn't really much he could say to that...

He managed to get her out of the room and hollered for Donnie even as he made his way to the lab. His call was answered by all the doors opening as four heads popped out of rooms. "What's up?" Raph asked over Holly's curious head. Apparently Leo wasn't the only one not sleeping alone anymore.

"More like what's about to come out." Leo answered. That set off a flurry of movement as they all scrambled into motion. Leo wasn't quite sure what they were all trying to scramble too though.

Things finally settled down, somewhat, once they got Lotus situated in the lab. Well they did once Donnie shooed a disappointed Mikey and Holly out. "But we want to see the baby!" Mikey whined.

"Yeah!" Holly whined next.

"You can see it after it's born!" A flustered Donnie snapped. "Right now...you two are in my way!"

Raph just chuckled as he drug the two of them out of the room, Holly trying to put up a fight about it and Raph ignoring her.

Leo could only watch as Lotus struggled with this. Sweat began to bead on her face the longer it went on and he wiped it away. Her pain filled cries grew stronger and he comforted her the best he could until Donnie felt it close enough to give her an epidural. She grew more tired as it dragged on but refused to rest as the drug took affect. Leo stayed with her, one hand holding hers while the other ran through her hair. The night dragged into morning as she came closer to that point. And still he remained, firmly giving her his support through this intense struggle she was having. Then it was time.

"Push." Donnie told her, and her whole body tensed with the effort. Leo was now sitting on the bed as she leaned against him after every one. Her breaths coming in rapid pants now, her face weary.

"Just a bit more blossom." Leo murmured to her. "Not to much longer now."

"I do...not...know if...I can..."

"You can." Leo wrapped his arms around her.

"Push!" Donnie said again, and again she struggled. Her breath came out in a pain filled cry even as the sounds of crying suddenly filled the air.

Lotus collapsed against him, utterly spent. Her over tired eyes barely comprehending what she has just accomplished. Leo just held her as she fought everything her body just put her through to stay awake long enough to see the child she had just brought into this world. Their child. "It's alright, little flower." Leo whispered to her as his eyes filled with tears. "You did it..."

She looked up at him, still not quite understanding. Not until Donnie walked over with the child and gently handed it to her. "It's a girl." He told them both with a smile.

Lotus reached out with her tired arms for the baby, and Leo brought his under hers to steady them so she could hold her daughter. "She is so beautiful..." Lotus whispered, tears in her own voice.

Leo thought so too as he he kept his supporting arms under her trembling ones. He looked down at this small wonder, and found himself struggling to breathe as his eyes widened. Leo had light brown eyes, Lotus a darker shade but still brown. This little girl in their arms had a set of bright blue almond shaped eyes that calmly looked back up at him. Eyes the same color that had once haunted him, but didn't anymore... Eyes that now held hope for him.

"Can I let them in now?" Donnie quietly asked and Leo just nodded, still amazed at what he was looking at.

Suddenly Leo found himself surrounded by his family as they all tried to get a good look at the baby Lotus still held. Even James had arrived sometime during the labour and came walking in with a smile. "Well it's about time!"

"I get to change the first diaper!" Mikey hooped, then dashed for the shelf where the baby supplies were stored. He came back with his arms full of baby changing stuff.

"You fucking idiot..." Raph grumbled. "It was just born! What in the hell makes you think it needs a damn diaper change already?"

"Well...I was hoping to find out what this stuff is for." He held out a bottle of baby powder. "Do you know what this stuff is for?" He shoved the bottle in Raph's face and squeezed it too hard in the process. The big white puff that resulted from that pretty much covered the entire face of a now very annoyed Raphael.

"MIKEEEEY!"

"Ooops..." Mikey dropped the bottle, causing another puff to come out of it, and ran, with Raph right on his heels.

"And that has to be the some kind of record for the world's quickest family introduction." James chuckled.

"Speaking of..." Holly smiled. "Fill us in already."

"It's a girl." Donnie smiled at her. "Still waiting on the name though."

Leo looked down at the child again, the blue eyes already giving him the perfect name. He thought quietly back on everything that had happened, everything that was changing. Even the new, or old and forgotten now relearned, antics his brothers were now doing on a regular basis. The one thing he had always somehow managed to hold onto his entire life that now led to this. He held Lotus' arms a bit tighter as her tired arms seemed to droop a bit under the weight of the baby. Even she played a part in the name he now chose.

"Hope..." Leo said quietly. "Her name is Hope..."

Lotus smiled a tired but happy smile up at him, reminding him that she had held onto her own hope for a long time. "A very fitting name, my love."

His answer was to kiss her hair.

Not long after the others quietly left, for the simple reason that Lotus was struggling to stay awake now. Leo changed his grip so that he was holding their daughter instead of her. But she was still leaning against him when she finally drifted off, her head resting against his shoulder as he carefully held Hope on his other side. He had his hands full with mate and child, but he didn't mind it one bit. This was new to him, so many things in this world were now new to him. But he would face them head on and full of the feeling he named the child after. It was hope that had gotten him this far, and it was Hope that would keep him going.

 **Author's note: And here ends this tale. It was a long, twisting tale, but I'm happy I took the time to write it. I felt they deserved the chance for everyone to see how they changed and went from evil to good. I hope this story came out they way I had intended. If you hated them at the start, but love them at the end then I did what I set out to do.**

 **And here is one last thing before I go. The character James is dedicated to Daffyd James Allen who, along with so many, has lost his life in the service of his country. You are gone but not forgotten. You live on in the hearts of your loved ones and now in anyone who reads this story. From one soldier to another, from sister to fallen brother, for we all are siblings in the tides of war, RIP my friend I have never met, but still respect all the same.**


End file.
